Renting a home isn’t that different from owning.
If you are renting a house, you may already feel like a homeowner by making routine repairs, gardening, or cleaning the gutters. There is one fundamental difference.
Unlike equity built with each monthly mortgage payment, the rent you are paying is producing zero future financial benefit. In fact you are essentially paying the landlord’s mortgage and likely additional utility costs. Since historically, most homes may increase in value over the long term, a home provides not only a place to live but may also provide return on your original investment.
Stay tuned for Part 4.
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The tax benefits derived from purchasing a home take too long to offset other costs involved.
Tax write-offs of mortgage interest can be among the biggest financial benefits of home ownership. But some question whether this benefit is really great enough to offset the “big picture” cost of ownership. Homes typically appreciate in value over time. That is why you may want to evaluate carefully how long you expect to stay in your new home. If you acnticipate staying for several years, the scales should tip in your favor and the value of your financial gain from home ownership is likely to outweight those initial costs to get in the door.
Stay tuned for Part 3.
Feel free to contact us in the form below if you have any questions or comments or are interested in purchasing a home in Tampa Bay:
Renting versus Buying In Tampa Bay Florida
With decreasing U.S. home prices, this question is no doubt running through the minds of many. The decision to rent an apartment, condo, or house, as opposed to buying, is complex and one that should be taken into great consideration.
There are many misconceptions when weighing the option to rent or buy. One of the biggest may be the notion that renting is simpler. When the refrigerator is a rental needs to be repaired, it is usually the landlord’s responsibility but when new homeowners buy a home the responsibility is theirs. Stating that renting is the “simpler” choice takes a narrow view on the issues that go into the buy-versus-rent decision.
In our four-part series we will post a few others.
Stay tuned for Part 2.
Feel free to contact us in the form below if you have any questions or comments or are interested in purchasing a home in Tampa Bay:
Whenever reading economic forecasts it’s a good idea to look at its source. In the latest news Associated Press’ business writer Mae Anderson claims that more than 80 percent of economists believe the recession is over and an expansion has begun, but they expect the recovery will be slow as worries over unemployment and high federal debt persist.
The housing recovery is seen as one bright spot. Forecasters expect 2010 to be the first year since 2005 that the housing sector will contribute to overall growth. Home prices are expected to rise 2 percent in 2010 but panelists do not believe that will stifle the housing recovery.
They expect home prices to rise 2 percent next year? We shall see how this forecast pans out.
Tampa, Florida Home Sales Statistics for August 2009
Someone asked us for Tampa, Florida home sales statistics for single-family homes.
For August 2009 in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties there were 14, 142 single-family homes for sale. Out of these single-family homes for sale, 1,579 sold and 2,500 were pended.
Here is a graph which shows this data:
Tampa Florida Real Estate Sales August 2009
If you would like more information about the Tampa, Florida real estate feel free to contact us.
Some good news:
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association mortgage loan application volume rose again last week, increasing 7.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the previous week.
On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 6.3 percent and was up 34.1 percent compared with the same week a year ago. This is the fourth consecutive week mortgage application volume has risen.
The increase was driven by refinances, with the refinance index increasing 12.7 percent from the previous week. The purchase index rose 1 percent with nearly all the increase coming from applications for government loans.
Mortgage rates rose slightly but the increase didn’t seem to deter applicants:
- 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.24 percent from 5.15 percent.
- 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.58 percent from 4.52 percent.
- 1-year ARMs increased to 6.74 percent from 6.66 percent.
From http://www.mbaa.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/70129.htm
For home buyers in Tampa Bay: Pinellas County Property Appraisers 2009 Data is Now Available
Many homeowners who have the homestead exemption believe their taxes should go down because their tax-assessed values went down.
However a loophole in the homestead law allows the tax-assessed value to increase a maximum of 3% if it’s less than the assessed value so a particular property tax may actually increase.
The property appraisers website can be accessed at www.pcpao.org. Look for “Search Our Database” then enter your property information.
Hope this helps.
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