Dear Real Estate Consultant,
I am currently renting a nice 2 bedroom apartment. I keep hearing about low mortgage rates and depressed prices, I was just wondering -should I be considering buying a house?
The apartment costs $850 per month and that includes all utilities. I know I should have renters insurance, but I haven't done that yet. Of course, I would really like to get out of the apartment because my neighbors downstairs are loud, I have to carry groceries upstairs every time I go to the store, and I'm getting really sick and tired of parking my car outside. Scraping windows is getting to be a drag.
What are your thoughts?
Dear sick and tired,
WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Let's do the arithmetic. You are spending over $10,000 every year to rent. While you don't have yard work or other maintenance concerns, you also have the loud neighbors, stair climbing, and scraping of windows.
At today's interest rates, which by the way are near record lows, you could own your own home and not pay more than you are now. Imagine turning up your stereo and not worrying about the neighbors! Think about the convenience and security of your own garage. Wouldn't it be nice to paint, decorate or make improvements without checking with the landlord? You could really make a house your home!
So how much home could you buy? For about the same amount monthly you could purchase a $110,000 home in Indianapolis or the surrounding areas such as Greenwood. That's a nice home with 3 bedrooms, an attached 2 car garage, and a yard! Oh, and that doesn't include the benefit of a mortgage tax deduction or the $7500 tax credit that Washington is offering new home buyers on their Federal Tax Returns. Visit our website for a payment and rent vs buy calculator for all the details.
Does that sound better than renting? If so, give some thought to what color you want to paint the living room. Now the choice is all yours!
by Steve and Tonda Hoagland of The Hoagland Team
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