The home for most families is almost always the largest value for an American family. As young kids grow up they begin to speak of some day having a home of their own. Often by the time they are married they have rather firmly fixed ideas of what that home should be like. Early in marriage, young couples dream and plan of having a home. “Having a home” need not necessarily mean owning the building in which that home is located. Home is a compound of physical surroundings and the love, understanding and aspirations which give life to the surroundings.

A rented apartment may glow with the essence of the home spirit, and a luxurious dwelling, owned by the family which lives there, may be a mere shell, housing emptiness and frustration.

Yet owning one’s own home seems to be part of the American dream. To some, home ownership is a symbol of security and status. Economists agree, however, that not every family ought to own its own home.

Each family should make its buy-or-rent decision in terms of its own values, and those who decide to rent may prefer to exchange the emotional satisfactions of home-ownership, for other satisfactions the family can enjoy by not owning a home. Of course there are some pros and cons of both renting and owning. Before discussing this, however, some general considerations should be kept in mind when you decide where to live, regardless of whether you own your home or are renting.

Some Things to Consider

Your decision about housing your family should be made in terms of your age and your income. Young couples, both of whom are working, and older people whose children have grown up and moved away are less likely to feel that their needs require home ownership than are the families in which children are being raised.

Housing should always be scaled to income. When buying is being considered, it should be scaled to future outlook for income. Paying more for housing than you can afford seems to be quite the norm for many couples – as this does not apply to only newleyweds. They feel that if they have a lavish home they will somehow manage to earn enough to pay for and furnish it. Sometimes they hope that the prestige they get from their home will help get ahead in their jobs. Sometimes people are inspired to do better at their work, just to make good on obligations they have incurred; but more often, the worry of meeting bills interfers with concentrating on the job. What is spent for housing, like what is spent for everything else, should be planned on the basis of income.

Your choice of the neighborhood in which you will live represents an important decision. Your house or your apartment does not represent the sum-total of your home. The environment and the other people in the neighborhood greatly affect the satisfactions you can get out of your home.

Consider the services and conveniences of the neighborhood you have in mind. How convenient is transportation? Are schools nearby? Can you shop conveniently? Are there noisy roads and businesses too close for comfort? Is there a good view? or an unsightly one? Does the roar of traffic intrude into your home? Is it so hilly that parking will be a problem? so flat that there is danger of flooding? Is it reasonably close to churches? parks?

If you are buying, you will give extra-careful thought to all these questions, because your ties with the neighborhood will last longer than those of the renter. Is the neighborhood one which will reflect the position in life you hope to have ten years from now? Is it the type in which you can comfortably raise teenagers? Is the neighborhood either improving or deteriorating in a way which will affect the re-sale value of your home?

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Tags: Home, Home Buying