Either Way, You're Still Paying a Mortgage!

There are some people that have not purchased a home because they are uncomfortable taking on the obligation of a mortgage. Everyone should realize that, unless you are living with your parents rent free, you are paying a mortgage - either your mortgage or your landlord’s.

As a recent paper from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University explains:

“Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return. That’s yet another reason owning often does—as Americans intuit—end up making more financial sense than renting.”

Also, if you purchase with a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, your ‘housing expense’ is locked in over the thirty years for the most part. If you rent, the one guarantee you will have is that your rent will increase over that same thirty year time period.

Whether you are looking for a primary residence for the first time or are considering a vacation home on the shore, owning might make more sense than renting since prices and interest rates are still at bargain prices.

Since January, I have helped 5 clients move out of their rentals and into a bigger, better home with a LOWER MONTHLY PAYMENT!  Tired of renting?  Call the Smart Realtor today & I'll help you make the smart decision.



Elizabeth Scott, Realtor®, Broker

BE SAVVY...CALL THE SMART REALTOR!

2013 Diamond Award – High Sales Volume
e-PRO, Strategic Pricing Specialist

Fathom Realty NC, LLC      
Phone: 919.306.9699
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5 Things You Can Do RIGHT NOW to Make a Difference

5 Things you can do RIGHT NOW to make a difference in the environment.

From all the plastic and other garbage floating in our oceans – the birthplace of all life on earth, to cities where you still cannot breathe the air, to corporate & political denial of the fact of climate change…I’m afraid we humans still do not have a great track record in caring for our Mother Earth since the first Earth Day in 1970.

Here are 5 very simple things you can do right now and every day that, if we all do them, will make a huge difference in the environment:

 

1.      Stop using and throwing out plastic bags from the stores.  This is a ecological nightmare!  Made from petroleum and tossed into the ocean, we should all be horrified by the impact these bags make.

2.      Unplug or use on/off power strips to stop the energy vampires (no, not that whiny co-worker in the next cube, though that is also a problem for many of us!).  On a national basis, standby power accounts for more than 100 billion kilowatt hours of annual U.S. electricity consumption and more than $10 billion in annual energy costs.

3.      Recycle the paper roll when the toilet paper and paper towels are done.  Don’t throw them in the garbage. 

4.      Faucet leaking?  Sprinkler system set for too long and too often?  The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home.  Don’t run a half-full dishwasher & fix those leaks!

5.      Can you believe we still see gas-guzzling cars & trucks idling away in the parking lot?  If you need to wait in your car for more than 1 minute, turn it off.  Open the windows – breathe the fresh air – wave & say hi to your fellow humans.  And stop the jackrabbit driving.  You don’t need to go zero to 60 to arrive at the next traffic light before the guy/gal next to you!

These tips are not just for Earth Day – they are for Every Day!  And it is the small things that make the biggers impact.

What small things do you do in your lifestyle to make a difference?  Please share your ideas in the “Comments” section. 

Thank you