• First Home Basics
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• Building Your Home
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• Why Horizon?

Three great financial reasons to buy a home.

Reason 1 – Building Equity
When you buy a home, every monthly mortgage payment you make contributes to your equity—your actual ownership of that home.

A portion of your monthly payment is allocated to paying down the principal on your loan (the base amount for which you took out your home loan), while the rest goes toward interest and escrow items (such as your home insurance and taxes).

The longer you own your home, the larger the portion of each month’s payment that is applied to your principal—and the greater your equity.

When you rent, however, you never build equity. When you leave your apartment or rental home, you have no ownership stake in that property whatsoever.

Reason 2 – Tax Advantages
The federal tax code offers many advantages to homeowners that are unavailable to people who rent.

First among these advantages is the homeowners ability to write off their mortgage interest. Particularly in the first several years of home ownership, this tax deduction can total thousands of dollars.

Of course, as a property owner you will also be paying property taxes. But again, these property taxes are generally deductible from your personal income taxes.

As each individual’s tax situation varies, please consult your tax advisor for more details.

Reason 3 – Appreciation
In general, the value of your home will increase over time. Historically, homes in the United States have appreciated (gone up in value) around 5% each year.

Of course, homes do not always go up in value. Several times in the last 50 years, the American housing market has actually declined. When interest rates rise sharply, for example, mortgage rates also rise and people are less likely to want to buy homes.

However, even though these “bust” cycles can be painful, homeowners who hold on to their properties for 5 or 10 years almost always see their homes appreciate in value.

Next Topic: Shoud I Buy New or Pre-Owned?