For The Holidays-There's No Place Like Home!

As we finish the remnants of Thanksgiving, the frozen turkey tetrazzini, turkey soup and turkey surprise many of us are eagerly and sometimes anxiously awaiting the next big holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan or even Boxing Day (a second day of Christmas in many of our neighboring countries) this is a very special time of year for families, friends, traditions and celebrations.

Our homes are the stage for creating these festive memories not only on holidays but throughout our daily lives.

Most of us are fortunate enough to have a permanent home to celebrate these special days, host family, friends and out of town visitors. Some families in the area are choosing to rent and others are renting but not by choice. There are advantages and disadvantages to renting before committing to purchase. Some of the benefits of renting are “trying on” the community, schools and lifestyle prior to fully investing themselves in the area. However home ownership has tremendous benefits. When the time comes to spruce the home for the holidays, it makes a lot more sense to invest time, money, thought and energy into sprucing up your own home, not the landlord’s house. Another very important advantage to owning versus renting is that ownership is actually equally or even more affordable than renting. According to the Wall Street Journal  “home prices and mortgage rates have fallen so far that the monthly cost of owning a home is more affordable than at any point in the past 15 years and is less expensive than renting in a growing number of cities”. While this report focuses on cities not suburbs we have certainly observed increased rental demand and costs in our local communities.

About a week before Thanksgiving I represented enjoyable buyers who closed on an area home. This very special family transferred here a few years ago from the South. For various reasons they rented for a couple of years before deciding to purchase a home of their own. Recently this truly adorable, young family celebrated Thanksgiving in their new home and now looks forward to celebrating many more holidays and creating lifelong memories for many more years in their own home. The boys in the family are young southern gentlemen, calling me “Miss Sherry” and were absolutely a pleasure to be around with their delightful personalities and manners. When those sweet boys knew for sure the home would really be theirs they voluntarily thanked me “for everything” and gave me hugs. They are so happy to be in a home with a yard and “real” rooms of their own.

Although home ownership is still a stable, smart long term investment it is important to remember, especially during this holiday season that your home is more than an asset. It is your family shelter, the place your family and friends gather to enjoy each other and create happy, long lasting memories.

Please feel free to contact me at smolitor@koenigstrey.com with any comments or questions.