Apartments Raleigh NC Blog

APARTMENT LIVING IN RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA

As a resident of Auston Grove Apartments in Raleigh you have made the choice to rent at our community and enjoy the many benefits and perks of renting an apartment home from HHHunt.  Although you truly enjoy the convenience, service, freedom, and flexibility that comes from renting an apartment home at (property name), some of you still feel pressured to buy a home.  This pressure can come from other family members, realtors, friends, and the media but there are so many smart reasons to continue to rent your home.  Have a look at what Associated Content has to say about Renting an Apartment Home Forever.

Your Home, Your Choice

How do you feel about this?  Do you have a burning desire to own a home?  Are you perfectly satisfied with renting an apartment?  Tell us about it in the comment box.

Jennifer Moran ~ HHHunt

WHAT THE BANKS FORGET TO TELL YOU . . .

Most of the time, banks and sales agents do not always give you the whole story when taking out a mortgage on a home. The amount of interest that you pay to the bank is pretty eye opening.  For instance, on a 30-year mortgage of $200,000 at 5.5% interest, your monthly payment would be $1135.58.  What this does not include is the monthly cost for property taxes, insurance, and maintenance which can easily cost an additional $200 – $300 per month depending on the value of your home.

Also, most individuals who purchase a home are not always well informed about the amount of principal that is being paid with their monthly mortgage payment.  In this particular example, this person would pay $68,122 over the course of 5 years in mortgage payments but only $15,367 of this would be applied to the principal!!  The other $52,755 goes entirely to INTEREST!   The other $12,000 to $18,000 in real estate taxes, insurance, and maintenance is on top of the $52,755 over a 5 year period.

Although you do build equity when you buy a home, the first several years of a mortgage involve paying much more towards interest than towards the principal.  See for yourself.  Check out mortgage payment calculator.  You can input different scenarios and view your own amortization schedule.  Just remember, this will not include taxes, insurance, maintenance costs (usually 1% of the value of the house per year), HOA fees, decorating fees, higher utility costs, etc.

Jennifer S. Moran

Some of the benefits for renters insurance are listed below…

You’ve moved in, set up phone service and changed your mailing address. What’s left to do? Get renter’s insurance to protect your precious belongings from unexpected perils like theft, flood or fire!

Renters insurance also covers your valuables kept in garage and storage’s. Our property owner’s insurance covers the buildings, not personal valuables inside, but for a low monthly premium you can insure yourself against future problems.

Renters insurance can cover hotel stays and eating out should it become necessary to do so due to not having access to your apartment. You can often work with the company that insures your vehicle to get a group deal and you will barely notice the increase. Please contact an insurance representative immediately for peace of mind.

Stop by the office to speak with some one about renter’s insurance or call 888-319-0115.  You can also get free quotes online at RentersInsurance.net

The biggest home ownership myth in the country is that owning a house is a huge tax break. I don’t know how many times that people have personally told me that they want to buy a home because they NEED a tax deduction!

I just shake my head in disbelief because I have done the math. If your mortgage interest and other qualifying expenses such as charity contributions aren’t more than the standard deduction, ($11,400 for joint filers in 2010), there is no tax advantage to owning. Assume that you buy a $200,000 house with a 5% down payment at a 6% interest rate. Your mortgage interest for the year would be $11,336. The Standard Deduction for join filers is $11,400. In this example, there is NO TAX BENEFIT.

Even when there is a tax benefit, you most always have paid much more money to maintain the house than you are saving in taxes.

By Jennifer Moran

There are so many factors that should be taken into consideration when deciding whether to buy or rent. Peer pressure (to buy a home) has often played into people’s decisions to purchase but every person’s finances, lifestyles, and needs/wants are different.

Check out this article from CNNMoney.com on renting and buying.

By Jennifer Moran