One of the questions I am asked most is "Do You think right now is the right time for you to buy a home?" You have many options to consider and choices to make. Buying a home is a big responsibility, financially and emotionally, but, most people want to own a home. Home ownership often is referred to as "the American Dream." Why is it so special? Among the reasons: Real estate often is an excellent investment, and often the number one source of wealth-building for families.

Owning a home has many benefits. When you make a mortgage payment, you are building equity - and that's an investment. Owning a home also qualifies you for tax benefits that may assist you in dealing with your new financial responsibilities - such as homeowners' insurance, real estate taxes, and upkeep - which can be substantial. But given the freedom, stability, and security of owning your own home, they are definitely worth it! Owning your own home also can be a great source of pride and stability.

One of the advantages of renting is being generally free of most maintenance responsibilities and the flexibility of moving almost as soon as you decide. But by renting, you lose the chance to build equity, take advantage of tax benefits, and protect yourself against rent increases. Also, you may not be free to decorate without permission and may be at the mercy of the landlord for your housing needs. There are many considerations in choosing between renting and buying:

There are tax advantages to home ownership in both the short and long terms. The mortgage interest and real estate taxes are tax deductible, which allows you to subtract part of your housing-related expenses from your taxable income, which could reduce your tax bill. In many cases, the amount of money a renter spends on rent can be about the same as or less than the amount a homeowner spends on a mortgage. With the tax benefit for homeowners, the savings can be significant.

The chart below shows a cost comparison for a renter and a homeowner over a seven year period. The renter starts out paying $800 per month with annual increases of 5%.

The homeowner purchases a home for $110,000 and pays a monthly mortgage of $1,000. After 6 years, the homeowner's payment is lower than the renter's monthly payment. With the tax savings of homeownership, the homeowner's payment is less than the rental payment after 3 years.

Yrs	Rent	Mortgage Payment	Monthly Diff.	After Tax Savings	Yearly Diff.	After Tax Savings
1	800	1000	-200	-50	-2400	-600
2	840	1000	-160	-10	-1920	-120
3	882	1000	-118	+32	-1416	+384
4	926	1000	-74	+76	-888	+912
5	972	1000	-28	+122	-336	+1464
6	1021	1000	+21	+171	+252	+2052
7	1072	1000	+72	+222	+864	+2664
8-30	.	.	Savings increase every year

Also paying the monthly rent can surely add up without building any equity in a property.

The chart below to see how quickly rent payments can add up

Monthly rent	3 years	10 years	15 years	30 years
$700	$25,400	$84,000	$126,000	$252,000
$800	$28,800	$96,000	$144,000	$288,000
$900	$32,400	$108,000	$162,000	$324,000
$1000	$36,000	$120,000	$180,000	$360,000
$1250	$45,000	$150,000	$225,000	$450,000
$1500	$54,000	$180,000	$270,000	$540,000