Are you still renting a home or condo for yourself or your family in the Greater Vancouver Area? If so, you’re losing money. Think about these three ways you lose money by renting:
1. Renters don’t get to freeze their monthly housing expenses like home buyers can. Of course, many home buyers get mortgage payments with adjustable interest rates and their payments go up over time. However, these payments will not go up over the long term like rising rents. Just think about how much an apartment costs today compared to ten years ago. A two bedroom apartment in Vancouver’ is $2300 today and even pricier depending on location. The exact same condo rented for $1200 in 1998, when it was brand new. Home buyers who had low monthly payments in 1998, who did not refinance their mortgage, enjoy low payments and don’t have to worry about rising rents.
2. You’re paying for someone else’s mortgage payment. You’re missing out on the appreciation that the property gives to the landlord. Appreciation is a term used in accounting relating to the increase in value of an asset, which means in real estate terms, added value to the property. Over the past five years, houses appreciated significantly, making many new real estate investor multimillionaires.
3. Renters don’t benefit from tax advantages. First Time Home owners in British Columbia get income tax exemptions. Tax deductions for interest costs, for instance, save tax payers thousands of dollars.
How to Buy Your First Home
You may have to go out of the major the metropolitan areas to buy a home. That’s why so many people commute in from Ladner, Delta, Surrey, Maple Ridge and other greater Vancouver areas. Affordable housing costs much less in outlying areas. But so do the rents. If you’re renting an apartment for $2,300 in Vancouver, you could buy a $500,000 home in Maple Ridge. If these amounts sound high to you, check your local area. Perhaps your monthly rent is only $1,000 and houses cost less than $200,000. Talk to a mortgage loan officer and see how much of a home you can afford. The biggest barrier to home ownership is often accumulating funds for a down payment. People think they have to have thousands of dollars for a down payment. However, if you have good credit and a decent job, you can get financing. With today’s mortgage finance plans, you may be surprised to find out how much of a home you can afford with payments similar to what you currently pay in rent.
Emotional Satisfaction of Home Ownership in Vancouver and the lower Mainland
Besides losing out on making money with real estate, renters don’t get the same satisfaction of home enjoyment that benefits home buyers. Many landlords in Vancouver won’t allow you to paint your walls in colors that you desire. Also, you won’t feel like fixing up the property with custom window coverings and you get little say in flooring materials. Because you can’t make your personal statement, you won’t feel like you’re HOME as much as home owners who feel emotionally connected to their property. If you’re renting, make one of your priorities to buy your own home.
You can contact me anytime for a consultation or just for advice on how to get started with buying instead of renting in Vancouver. https://vancouvercanadahomes.com/
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