Experts Agree: Homeownership Provides a Path to Long-Term Wealth

Published:
June 7, 2022
Last updated:
June 7, 2022
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When it comes to building personal wealth, simply buying a home could be the best first step. Home ownership can pave the way to long-term wealth no matter where you are on the money ladder.

The road to long-term growth of personal wealth starts off simple: with buying a home. Smart home buying coupled with savvy loan repayment and home maintenance can turn your house into a powerful nest egg that can be leveraged to grow your wealth.

Homeownership Isn’t Out Of Reach

Are you worried about buying a home because you think your credit is too low or your down payment isn’t big enough? There are tons of programs for home ownership that can put you on the path to personal wealth building through owning your own home.

How Home Equity = Wealth

Housing is most people’s biggest asset. When you own your own home, you are sitting on – or rather, living in – something worth anywhere from a few hundred thousand to over a million dollars. That’s a pretty hefty investment! Homeowners are wealthy the minute they close, and that wealth grows along with your home equity as you pay down your mortgage.

Home equity can also be a buffer against inflation since you can lock in mortgage costs now while they are still comparatively low in relation to years past. That means as they continue to rise you can stay down at a lower rate while your equity grows at the same rate as everyone else’s.

You can leverage your home equity to make further investments, like buying a second property to grow your wealth even faster. Just make sure you don’t overextend and risk losing it all with a bad investment.

Why Renting Will Never Let You Get Ahead

Even with high home prices, buying is still best if there is any way for you to swing it. Tight home inventory nationwide is driving up home prices, which in turn drives up rental prices. The rental market keeps getting worse in part due to buyers being priced out of the home market.

Another reason rents are so high is the increasing number of investors buying homes to use as short-term rentals and people buying vacation houses. This can mean a rental payment every month could be as much as twice a mortgage payment – and at the end of five or ten years, you’re no better off than you are right now.

So tighten that belt buckle, pay down debt, improve your credit, and beg, borrow or steal – um, sell everything you can to come up with a down payment. Buying a home gets you started on the path to long-term wealth in a way nothing else can.

Programs For Homeownership

Even with low income you can still buy a home. There are so many programs designed to help you! Government backed loans, like FHA loans which typically have a lower down payment requirement (between 3.5% and 10% depending on your credit score) or VA loans which often require no down payment if you are a qualifying service member or spouse.

If you’re trying to sell an older home and buy a new one simultaneously, a bridge loan can help you get into a home that will appreciate and hold you over while you finish the process of selling your old home. If the best home options in your area cost more than the loan limit on a conventional loan, you can get a jumbo loan.

If you don’t have a problem getting preapproved for a loan but you just can’t seem to get your offer accepted by a home seller, the Diamond Homebuyers Program from Sammamish mortgage is a free service that offers you help getting your offer accepted, by going to bat for you with the seller and anticipating many common home buying obstacles like demands for tight closing timelines or appraisal gaps.

Why You Should Invest In a Home Now

Buying a home is the path to financial freedom. Don’t let anything stand in your way. Investing now means you start building equity now, not later. Just a few years difference can mean the difference of many more years to reach the same wealth results.

As your equity grows, you can stay ready for other investment opportunities. You can also enjoy staying abreast of inflation thanks to home appreciation. By the time you pay off your home, if you keep it in good repair, you could be well set to sell and downsize for a comfortable retirement.

When you buy a home, maximize its power to grow your wealth by paying extra on your mortgage when you can. You can use a mortgage calculator to find out how tweaking your mortgage payment saves you in interest and in total years on your loan term.

Just paying half your monthly mortgage payment every other week can mean a whole extra payment a year. Reviewing your amortization can help you get a feel for where your money is going with each house payment, and how to shrink your home purchase costs and grow your wealth faster.

Today’s Mortgage Rates

Why Choose a Sammamish Mortgage?

At Sammamish Mortgage, we can help you get fully preapproved for a mortgage, including underwriting, so you can start your journey of homeownership and wealth building today. We have multiple programs for home ownership aimed at getting you into a home as soon as possible.

Sammamish Mortgage has been in business since 1992 and has assisted many homebuyers in the Pacific Northwest. If you are looking for mortgage financing in Washington State, we can help you get preapproved. Sammamish Mortgage offers mortgage programs in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

Contact a loan officer if you have any mortgage-related questions or concerns. If you are ready to move forward, you can view rates, obtain a customized instant rate quote, or apply instantly directly from our website.

Get an Instant Mortgage Rate Quote Today

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