Irrespective how good renting a house in Nigeria could be. The truth still remains that buying and owning one's personal home will always be more important and advantageous.
Unless you are blessed with a good land lord, you will agree with me that the rules that most home owners exact on their clients/tenants in Nigeria most times are often hard and unbearable. Who can live with a bitter landlord.
I feel for a couple of note who after retiring from government works still found themselves living as a tenant. The mistake they and many like them often make is to ignore investing into buying their own home while they are still in active service.
In their retirement years, when their other retired friends were living in their homes that were almost paid off and had appreciated greatly, they are still living as tenants, having to live even at old age with the stringent rules of tenancy.
You too don't make that mistake.
Studies shows that having your own home gives you the desired privacy you want, efficiency in the sense that you don't have to worry year in year out again for rent payment, you get to decorate your home to your taste. Besides these, listed below are some of the major advantages for owning your own house.
1) More Stable Housing Costs
Rent payments can be unpredictable and typically rise each year, but most mortgage payments remain unchanged for the entire loan period. If the taxes go up, the increase is usually gradual. This stable housing cost especially important in times of inflation, when renters lose money and owners make money.
Note: Mortgage is a special form of secured loan where the purpose of the loan must be specified to the lender, to purchase assets that must be fixed (not movable) property, such as a house or piece of farm land. The assets are registered as the legal property of the borrower but the lender can seize them and dispose of them if they are not satisfied with the manner in which the repayment of the loan is conducted by the borrower. (Oxford English Dictionary). What this explains is that you can get a mortgage loan to buy or build your own house instead of yearly payments of rent.
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2) Tax Savings
You get to save on tax payments. Homeowners can be eligible for significant tax savings because you can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from your federal income tax, as well as many states' income taxes. This can be a considerable amount of money at first, because the first few years of mortgage payments is made up mostly of interest and taxes.
3) Debt Consolidation
If you need to, you can refinance a mortgage loan to consolidate other debts (an opportunity you don't have if you are renting.) And the interest on this is also tax deductible.
4) Equity
Instead of payments disappearing into someone else pocket, home owners are building equity in their own home. This is often one of a person's biggest investment assets. Each year that you own the home you pay more toward the principal, which is money you will get back when the home sells. It is like having a scheduled savings account that grows faster the longer you have it. If the property appreciates, and generally it does, it is like money in your pocket. And you are the one who gets to take advantage of that, not the landlord. You can then use this equity to plan for future goals like your child's education or your retirement.
In short: when you invest in buying a home, the appreciation of the house becomes a gain to you.
5) It is Yours!
When you own a home you are in control. You can decorate it as you want and landscape it any way you wish. You can have a pet or two. No one can pop in and inspect your home and threaten to evict you.
You don't have to follow anyone's rules but yours. You decide on what you want your house to be, the kind of home decor you want, flowers to plant, color and shape etc.
Even young people, like University students can also benefit from home ownership. It puts them ahead of other young people of their age financially by helping with their credit and giving them what is often an excellent investment. A university student buying a home will rent the rooms out, and his or her roommates end up making the payments for the house. When the student is ready to move on, her or she can sell the home (hopefully making a profit) or keep it as an investment and continue to rent it.
Buying a home is an exceptional decision that should not be overemphasized. It is often the largest purchase a person makes in his or her life. Home ownership also comes with some increased responsibilities, and isn't for everyone.
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There are some disadvantages to homeownership that you should take into account.
1) Increased Expenses
Your monthly expenses may increase, depending on your situation. Even if the monthly payments are the same, home owners still have to pay property taxes, all the utilities, and all the maintenance and upkeep costs for the home. Often you need to supply appliances that were furnished with a rental.
2) Decreased Freedom of Mobility
Homeowners can't move as easily as a renter who just has to give notice to the landlord. Selling a house can be a complex and time consuming process.
3) Risk of Depreciation
In some areas with overinflated prices, there may be a risk that the house will depreciate instead of increase in value, if the prices go down. If you then sell the house, you may not get enough money from the home to pay back your mortgage, and you will still owe the mortgage company money.
4) Possibility of Foreclosure
If for some reason you are unable to make your payments, you risk having the lender foreclose on your property. This can result in the loss of your home, any equity you have earned, and the loss of your good credit rating.
Your decision to buy your own house instead of renting should be weight very well, but i must reiterate that, you getting your own house is quite good and of great important.
Mind you, you don't get a home in a deserted area. It may not appreciate in value.
You can actually save yourself of the stress of Landlord rules and wahala.
For more Enquiries/Consultation/Investment purpose; Contact Me
Agboola John Oluwafemi - Realtor
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