The benefits of home ownership

The benefits of home ownership By Theresa Grant Real Estate columnist Some of the benefits of home ownership are obvious. Investment purposes alone is one of the biggest ones. The freedom to do what you want within the bylaws of your area, decorating as you please, pride of home ownership etc… However, there are some things that many people never think about that can be of great advantage to the homeowner. I was having a conversation with a friend last week, and she was talking about her two sons. One of which owned a house and the other whom she felt may never have that opportunity given the prices of today, along with the stringent requirements to qualify. My friend and her husband were thinking of helping her one son out with a downpayment, but she was concerned that given the interest rates he may have difficulty covering the mortgage on a monthly basis. It was then that I decided to point out what I was always told growing up. If you own something, you always have something to sell. You are in a position to leverage assets. While most people are aware that if you own a house, you can always sell it, and in most cases, at least you’d hope you would be in a position to make a profit. While that is not the objective for most, there are several other ways to benefit financially. For one, if you have a spare bedroom, you can always look at renting it out. If you are not keen on having someone live with you on a full-time basis, you could look at renting to a student or perhaps a worker who is just in town for a few days a week or on a contract basis. Generally, those type of renters are pretty self sufficient and really in need of the basics, a bed, a shower, and somewhere to make food. They often prefer to keep to their room as well. Other than having a room in your home to rent out, there are many other opportunities as well. If you have a back yard for instance, many people will pay to have a little section of a yard to garden in. This has been done for years. Many people don’t have the means to have a garden where they live but they have a real desire to plant a garden and be able to pick their fresh vegetables on a daily basis. If you have a shed or a garage, many people are interested to have a workshop. That may be something you could think about. Along that same vein, if you have a driveway, you can rent someone a parking spot. As more and more people come into an area, there are only so many parking spaces available and there are often people advertising that they are looking for a parking spot on a regular basis. These are just a few ideas to generate a little extra cash from your home. Think about it. Where there’s a will there’s a way.