Real estate really isn’t that bad a bet

The housing market bubble has burst, and everyone is now decrying buying and owning a home as an unnecessary expense. The news is terrible and everyone is talking about foreclosures and the millions of homeless so it is true when they say that there really is no news like bad news. Stocks are flapping and flailing and failing to take off and unemployment is terrible, although it is getting better all the time. Despite this entire hullabaloo in the orchard, it might not be such a bad deal at all for you to buy a house, although we cannot honestly say that can be a universal claim applicable to all. Here’s how it can apply to you.

Dirt cheap rates

Have you checked out those mortgage rates of late? They’re lower than the lowest of low-lying fruit! Fixed mortgages are now getting locked in at a more affordable 4.5%, which is much more affordable compared to what went on earlier. This obviously translates into much more affordable mortgages for all and it is perhaps the difference between that house that was once unaffordable and what it means to you now.

Forced Savings

If you set up the money to get directly paid towards your principal regularly, you don’t get the money in hand to spend and it couldn’t have gone to waste. Of course, you can do a hell of a lot better by investing that money elsewhere but money towards a home is equity. Buying a home is no longer the “buy now, sell for a profit later” proposition that it once was and those that are buying a home now are not optimistic sellers; they’re home-makers that want a home of their own.

Renting isn’t a great idea

Not all landlords are made equal and sometimes renting a home isn’t that savory or inexpensive an experience. If you’re lucky, your landlord won’t be an absolute sour puss, but more often than not, that’s exactly what he turns out to be. If you’re a tenant, you are not in your own home and subject to the wishes of a landlord, and that is never a great situation to be in.

The market crash has opened up opportunities that might previously have never been on the table as an option but fear can be such a debilitating thing that it hampers your long-term vision entirely. But this means you must have the discipline to save and have your finances in order, and is that really a large price to pay for the house of your dreams?