In the State of the Union address, the state or our country's current real estate situation was addressed. In today's real estate market it's not surprising if people are a bit gun shy about buying a home. Some questions that potential homeowners are considering:
What if I can't afford my mortgage in the future?
What if my home loses so much value that I eventually owe more than it's worth?
What if I have to move in a few years and can't sell my home?
If you've ever asked yourself these questions about home ownership, it could be time for you to look into renting versus buying a home. Believe it or not, sometimes it makes more sense to rent anapartment in Roanoke, VA rather than own. Here are 3 tips to help you figure out which option—renting or buying—makes the most sense for you.
Evaluate whether you have a steady income to support paying a mortgage.
Make a timeline of how long you plan to stay put. If you anticipate staying in a home for only one or two years, it is unlikely that you will see a significant financial return on your investment.
Crunch the numbers before making your decision. When buying a home, you have to take into consideration your mortgage payments as well as real estate taxes, insurance payments, and the maintenance costs. With renting an apartment, calculating month-to-month housing expenses is as easy as inquiring about the monthly rent and average utilities.
Many people are told when they are younger that renting is only for college graduates or people who cannot afford to buy. Many parents hammer these ideas into their children and tell them that renting is equivalent to throwing money away every month. Fortunately, today people are beginning to finally think for themselves and challenge these ideas. Here are 4 reasons to pat yourself on the back for deciding to rent an apartment in Roanoke, VA at an HHHunt Community!
1. Renting can save money
At the very minimum you’ll be shelling out PITI for your home. That is:
1. Principal
2. Interest
3. Tax
4. Insurance
The PITI doesn’t include property maintenance like maintaining the yard, paint, plumbing, repairs, decorating, etc… When you rent anapartment in Roanokeat an HHHunt community, the monthly payment is almost always quite a bit less than the PITI in your area and there are no maintenance expenses!
2. Homeowners’ tax deductions are overstated
According to research quoted by MSN, “… half of homeowners don’t get a break, because even with mortgage interest and property taxes, their total deductions do not exceed the standard federal tax deduction ($11,900 for couples and $5,450 for singles)”.
For these folks, it’s like spending $100 to save $20. They’re better off saving the difference and investing it. Even if there is a “break” on your taxes, you typically had to spend more than you would have spent to rent to get back that $20 for every $100 spent in interest payments.
3. Renting gives you flexibility
For the up and coming young professional, you’re better off renting and saving for a few years than to buy a small condo. Who knows how fast you will outgrow it? When you own a home, you can’t always sell it when you need to sell it at the price you want to sell it in order to accept a new employment opportunity. If you have owned a home and don’t want the constant maintenance responsibility, rentinggives you the opportunity to enjoy your weekends instead of completing that “to do” list.
There was a time, not so long ago, when college graduates dreamed of a new home with a mortgage. It was the next step.
With an uncertain economy, and more people moving to take jobs where they can find them, renting is the rage for the Millenial generation. The new dream is renting an apartment in one of the new“destination living” communities, complete with swimming pools, state-of-the-art fitness centers, volleyball courts and all kinds ofapartment amenities.
For the first time since owning has lost its luster for the young. Since 2008, the percentage of young people who think that owning a home is “better than renting” has fallen.
Renting anapartment in Roanoke, VAhas acquired a sort of cool respectability. Empty nesters got the same religion a couple of decades ago, when droves of them began cashing out of their high-maintenance houses.
Some of the forces driving the change are cultural. People are getting married so much later and they travel light longer.
The young also gravitate to renting an apartment because mortgages are hard to come by. No one wants to get stuck with a house or condo they can’t sell when there’s a job offer 2,000 miles away. There’s no stigma to rentinganymore, and there’s just so much to keep you interested and busy in an apartment community she says.
Wondering how to find the best apartment in Roanoke, VA that will fit your lifestyle. The “best” apartment certainly varies for everyone, these tips should help you find the apartment that suits you.
Know yourself
Before you can figure out how to find the best apartment for you, you have to know what you need. A good way to start an apartment search is to think about how your lifestyle affects your apartment needs. Ask yourself: what kind of apartment dweller will you be? Do you need a quiet apartment where you can relax or study all day long? Or do you need a place to rest your head at night in between work and an active social life?
When you consider how your lifestyle affects your apartment needs, think about the following factors:
How much money is in your budget for living expenses? How much can you put towards rent after you pay other life expenses?
Do you work 9 to 5? Are you in school? How far from work do you want to live?
Can you fit everything in a small studio apartment? Or do you need a one bedroom , or two bedroom apartment to accommodate your family?
Where is your child’s school located? Do you need a recreation area for your kids to play outside?
What do you do for recreation? What do you need in a neighborhood or community? Do you like to be near restaurants and shops? Do you like the outdoors?
Do you drive everywhere? Bike? Use public transportation?
Where will you walk your dog? How many times a day do you take your dog outside?
All of these questions will help you pinpoint exactly what you need and want in an apartment. In Roanoke, there are so many options, so know what you want. If you want more information about our online special, contact Honeywood Apartments.
These days, real estate brokers are dealing with declining home sales and would have their clients believe that there is no better time than the present to buy a home. Prices are down and mortgage rates are at all-time lows.
Unfortunately for the brokers, many clients are not persuaded by that logic. Instead, in increasing numbers, people are choosing torent their homes — unconvinced that the housing market has yet hit bottom.
Apartments in Roanoke, VA are in a fabulous location and offer amenities that cannot be found in any old home, renting in Roanoke is a great option for many. With renting you also have a broad mix of people making up your community; the young student residents, new families, empty nesters and retirees. For many, homeownership in no longer on their wish list.
Nationally, vacancy rates for apartments are projected to drop to 4.6 this year, down from 5% currently. If you are interested in the new trend of renting, and are moving to or within Roanoke, contact Honeywood Apartments.
One of the most popular home ownership myths in Roanoke, VA is that owning a house is a huge tax break as compared to renting. I don’t know how many times people have personally told me that they want to buy a home because they NEED a tax deduction! I just shake my head in disbelief because I have done the math.
If your mortgage interest and other qualifying expenses such as charity contributions aren’t more than the standard deduction, ($11,600 for joint filers in 2011), there is no tax advantage to owning a home as opposed to renting an apartment in Roanoke, VA. Assume that you buy a $200,000 house with a 5% downpayment at a 6% interest rate. Your mortgage interest for the year would be $11,336. The Standard Deduction for joint filers is $11,600.
In this example, there is NO TAX BENEFIT. Even when there is a tax benefit, you most likely paid much more money to maintain the house than you are saving in taxes. If your mortgage interest is more than the standard deduction and you choose to itemize, there is little to no advantage.
For example, assume that your mortgage interest in 2011 is $15,000. You would get to deduct an additional $3400 if you itemize BUT you spent $15,000 in mortgage interest to save $850 on your taxes (assuming 25% tax bracket).
Don’t forget that you would also have all of the other expenses of home ownership that you would not have incurred when renting an apartment in Roanoke, VA in an HHHunt community.
So many Americans today think they should own a home. But there is that argument that says renting is better. While home ownership provides security, but not the returns provided by equities. Using history as a guide, you can reasonably expect roughly 8% annual gains on your stock portfolio over the long term. House prices, on the other hand, tend to follow the rate of inflation.
Finally, don't forget that even with the tax-breaks of home ownership, you will still be incurring out-of-pocket costs that you wouldn't encounter as a renter from the cost of ripping down wallpaper to repairing a leaky roof, even gas for the lawn mower. Before you think about buying, estimate how much the costs will be. Don’t put yourself in the position that you are living hand-to-mouth even if it is in your own home.
Draining Your 401(k) for a down payment
Even though it is an option, withdrawing money from your 401(k) to fund a home purchase is a bad idea. Assuming you're not at least 59 1/2 years old, you'll owe taxes plus a 10% penalty. You will also cripple your retirement savings, since most plans won't allow you to contribute to your plan for at least a year following a withdrawal. This means you're going to lose out on your company match as well as future tax-deferred contributions, not to mention the earnings on the money you've withdrawn.
Borrowing from a 401(k) isn't much better. If you leave the company for any reason, you run the risk that your loan will be called immediately. While out of your account, those dollars will also miss out on any market gains, and that tax-deferred growth.
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With an uncertain economy, and more people moving to take jobs where they can find them, 
Know yourself
These days, real estate brokers are dealing with declining home sales and would have their clients believe that there is no better time than the present to buy a home. Prices are down and mortgage rates are at all-time lows.
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