Buying a home is almost like a rite of passage. It’s a goal that so many of us want to achieve. Sometimes it’s because it’s just something that you’ve always had in your life plan – that you’ll grow up, buy a home, get married, have kids – in whatever order or way works for you. Sometimes it because we’re driven to pursue security and wealth.

I’ve been thinking about this and here are my top reasons for buying a home:

  1. You need a place to live. Owning your own home means that when you get old and retire, you’ll have somewhere to live – rent-free. 
You don’t get kicked out. Owning your own home means that you’re not at the whim of a landlord who might increase the rent, refuse to fix something or decide to sell the property.
  2. 
You’ll gain an asset. Owning your own home is often the first step towards building a property portfolio. You can leverage your asset by borrowing money at low rates to invest in other things such as shares, property or a business.
  3. Appreciation. In both senses, the value increasing, and the ability to understand what it takes to buy a home. Owning your own home gives you a chance to make money through an increase in property values. I guarantee that no matter how hard I tried, I would never have been able to save the kind of money that I make through increased property values.
  4. You can renovate your home. Owning your own home means you can change it to suit you. If you don’t like that purple feature wall, change it. You don’t even have to ask anyone else. Imagine that!
  5. Stability, predictability and freedom. Owning your own home means you’ve always got somewhere to live. If you want to rent it out and travel for a few years, the rent can often cover the mortgage while you travel. You can estimate what your loan repayments will likely range between for the next 30 years. While your friends are taking out $1million home loans, you’ll be flying ahead on your much smaller loan with the view to pay it off it long before them.

What was your reason to buy a home or what’s your #1motivation to buy a home?