Why Do It? A Really Good Reason To Purchase A Home

Purchasing A Home. Where to Begin.

The first question to ask is: why buy a home? I live in a beautiful Victorian home in San Francisco that was built in 1880. It's solid redwood, it's cool. Shortly after I moved in in 1970 I stood in the dining room and threw a rubber ball against the wall and caught it. I did this 20-25 times. (I made 20-25 spots.) But it felt great. When I was a kid I couldn't do this. But now I owned a house and I was going to throw My ball against the wall of MY house and make MY spots and that was it.

I think that that little kid in all of us who doesn't want his or her parents or anyone else telling us where we can put our feet and what color we can't paint our walls is the real reason we buy houses. It gives us a sense of freedom that we could never have at someone else's house.

But What About the Money?

For most people buying is more expensive than renting but the tax deductibility of our mortgage expense makes the prospect of owning a bit more practical. In essence, our Uncle Sam is making about a third of our mortgage payment.

Once you have made the leap and decided that you are going to buy a home you have to find out what you can afford. That is where we come in.

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