June is National Homeownership Month

What does Homeownership do for you?

When I was going to write up my trust and living will, the first question I was asked by the attorney was, “what real estate, and investments do you own?”.  When I was  having a conversation regarding beginning a life insurance policy the first question asked by the advisor was, “what real estate, and investments do you own?”.

I never really thought about real estate coming up in these conversations.  The more I thought, I understood the reasons why.

Real Estate builds financial security.  Real estate is an asset.  Assets build wealth. 

I feel like we typically drift towards the immediate rewards of owning real estate rather than the long term benefits with regards to homeownership. 

General forethought towards homeownership that is immediate satisfaction are no landlord, you can do what you want and when you want in your own home and outside of your home, decorate your home the way you want, knock down walls, plant a tree in your own yard, and possibly pay less for a monthly mortgage payment than a monthly rent payment etc.

Building equity by owning is something that we hear repeatedly too as an advantage of homeownership.  Do we truly internalize that?  Build equity.

As we know the positives we also go towards the not so fun parts of homeownership.  Maintenance of the interior and exterior.  Household items, structures, and systems will need replaced overtime, and sometimes multiple replacements all at once.

The process prior to homeownership has its weight too.  Looking for a home or building new, the wait once an offer is accepted, and the anticipation of having possession of the home.  Also the potential wait of the current owner(s) to vacate, and cleaning once the owners are moved out. 

All these steps prior to homeownership, and the significance of owning is it still worth it to own?

Owning real estate builds financial security.  With 65.5% of Americans owning homes, the net worth of a typical homeowner is nearly 40 times the net worth of a non-owner.

Still not convinced?!  Franklin D. Roosevelt said it simply and rather convincingly, “ Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away.  Purchased with common sense, paid for in full and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world”.

Sources Cited:  https://www.nar.realtor/june-is-national-homeownership-month