The purchase of a house is arguably one of the biggest investments the average individual will ever make.
And it's at the same time probably among the most stressful experiences — home inspection, assessment, mortgage, insurance, property report, taxes, bylaws and a slew of utilities.
The responsibilities and expenses rack up rather fast, so a person or couple must be prepared to choose carefully.
But with mortgage rates as low as they are, and the market favouring buyers, there is no shortage of options to choose from out there. So the time to escape the rental market has not been so appealing for a long time.
The amount of money spent on rent after years easily adds up into the tens of thousands of dollars. Really the only advantage to renting — aside perhaps not having to worry about expenses like taxes — is the ability to pack up and leave on just about a moment's notice.
But it makes sense to take that big step forward once a community to call home for the foreseeable future has been found. Rent rates being what they are, a person or couple could easily spend anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 or even more every year.
After merely five years on the higher end of the rent rate spectrum — at $20,000 per year — the tenant could have instead invested $100,000 in his or her own home rather than lining someone else's pockets with that kind of money.
That cost might be oversimplified in that it doesn't include all the additional expenses of home ownership mentioned earlier, but it nevertheless paints a telling picture. A mortgage works to build your net worth for the future. Rent is akin to flushing money — and lots of it — down the drain.
Of course renting doesn't come with the same pressure of home ownership. But despite all that nail-biting anxiety, there's no better place to settle down, relax and unwind than the one you can call your own.
This is something my other half and I are eagerly looking forward to.
After more than a year in Sundre, we've decided to set some roots and are poised to take that big plunge as first-time homebuyers.
While we still have some details to work out and aren't quite ready to start moving in, the anticipation of finally having a place to call ours while at the same time building our equity and preparing for our future in a community we're glad to call home is nothing short of exhilarating.
