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Buying a New Home
The pride of home ownership is a key principal in the success of our nation and a key ingredient in driving our economy. In college psychology courses, we learned about Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Basic Physiological needs- food, shelter, and clothing are our most basic needs and the first set of priorities that we must attain.
While the goal of Home (land/family farm) ownership actually began with Plymouth Rock, the modern American Dream of owning a home actually began at the close of World War II. American GI's returning from Europe needed housing located close to industry and jobs. Prior to World War, we were principally an agrarian society, but the explosive growth in manufacturing jobs led to the development of the suburbs and tract (cookie cutter) homes. Many urban (city dwellers), who had rented for years, were now able to purchase their own home and begin the modern version of the American Dream. My own father moved from the family farm secured during the Great Georgia land lottery into a cookie cutter home with a mortgage of about $60 per month. My father admits that at times this $60 mortgage was difficult to meet, but he remains proud of that first 900 square foot home and the grass and oak trees that came with it.
The Cost of Home OwnershipApproximately 2 out of 3 American families own their own home, but with home ownership comes additional expenses, not normally accrued with renting. A $900 mortgage payment is more costly than a $900 rent payment. Home ownership is not for everyone. Simply comparing the cost of a mortgage with the cost of a monthly rent payment is a short-sighted reason for purchasing a new home. Owning your own home requires TLC and the understanding that when the water heater fails to function, their is no landlord to call to have it replaced. You will undoubtedly spend more on a new home than you would on a rent payment and the increased amount of personal time required for home ownership is unattractive to some. When you take on a home mortgage, you take on a second job. There is carpet to clean, and grass to mow. There is painting to perform and flooring and wallpaper to install. With this responsibility comes lawn mowers to repair and grass to fertilize.
So how much house can you afford? Many people make the mistake of taking their current rent payment ($900), figuring the current interest rate over 25-30 years with a $900 mortgage payment and setting a new home purchase price based on these numbers. However, this creates a tight budget and dissatisfaction. You never want to be "house-poor" or "car poor" as my father was so fond of saying. You will eventually need a vacation from this "second job" and the inability to do so creates unhappiness. To help you determine how much house you can afford, we have included a sample mortgage work sheet in our Financing a Home section (Publisher note: Would you like to publish an article on this topic about Homes or other related topics? This article will be linked back to your own web site. Visit our Affiliate Publisher area to submit an article)
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Helton Genealogical DNA Project - Hilton Family Tree - http://hiltonfamilytree.com
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Private
property rights is a basic principal of the U.S. Constitution and these rights
were assured by our founding fathers.
