Unexpected bonuses to buying a home

With rents continuing to rise, more people are considering owning to be a more realistic alternative.

While your clients already know the basic reasons why owning can triumph over renting, but Jaymi Naciri of Realty Times offers five unexpected, positive bonuses that come along with home ownership. Pass these along to your clients who aren’t sure if making the jump from renting to owning, or from moving into their affordable dream home, is best for them.

1. Pride of ownership. You understand the idea of pride of ownership, but maybe you’ve never actually felt it. You will once you put those keys in the door for the first time. And this doesn’t just apply to first-time homebuyers. If you’ve worked hard, saved well, spent smart and are able to now move up to the home of your dreams, you’ll undoubtedly feel it, too.

2. It’s a do-over. So your old house deteriorated into an outdated mess. Or maybe you earned a reputation for being the grumpy neighbor because you threw one too many fits over dog poop on your lawn. Now you’ve got a clean slate. Your house can be anything you want it to be, and you can be anyone you want to be—even the friendly, helpful neighbor who sets out poop bags, just in case.

3. Social benefits. Any move brings new opportunities to make new friends and increase your social interaction. But homeownership can also provoke deeper social benefits.

A report from the National Association of Realtors® found that homeownership positively impacts educational achievement, with homeowners having “a significant effect on their children’s success. The decision to stay in school by teenage students is higher for those raised by home-owning parents compared to those in renter households,” they said.

Potential reasons for this: “Certain behavioral characteristics required of homeowners that get passed onto their children,” such as the financial commitment that leads homeowners “to minimize bad behavior by their children and those of their neighbors that can negatively impact the value of homes in their neighborhood;” homeowners assuming “a greater responsibility such as home maintenance and acquiring the financial skills to handle mortgage payments;” and “neighborhood stability.”

An additional study shows that “homeownership has positive effects on the academic achievement of children (with) significant effects of home environment, neighborhood quality, and residential stability on the reading and math performance of children between the ages of three and 12.”

4. Coupons galore. Chances are you’ve got a laundry list of things you want to do to your new pad. Buying a new house will unleash a cavalcade of junk mail, but in that mess of unwanted refinance offers and insurance information and other nonsense will be all kinds of coupons you can use from big box companies, home décor outlets, window treatment businesses and the like. Go through them carefully and you can fix up your place without spending the equivalent of your down payment.

There are also hundreds of dollars worth of coupons from companies like Best Buy, Lowes and Bed Bath & Beyond available in the change of address form you fill out at the post office or online.

5. Credit offers. Once you close escrow, your credit score will get a bump and the credit offers will start rolling in. This is great if you’re looking to get a new car, do some home improvement projects on credit, or buy some new furniture. By taking advantage of special offers from Home Depot, Best Buy or furniture stores you can do some updates and spread out your payments over time without accruing interest—if you qualify. Just make sure to keep track of how much you need to pay monthly to take full advantage of the program.