How Our Home Is the Best Investment we have Made
Our home. An excellent decision. Our best purchase. But not for the reason you may think.
Most people assume that buying house is a smart move simply because it is a good “investment”.
Real estate is likely to appreciate and can even become the largest portion of your total net worth. As you pay your mortgage down and it grows in value, you can build a nice chunk of equity!
At that point, you can either sell and reinvest into another home, or you could eventually downsize and enjoy the profits! For many, this is all absolutely true and a great motivator to invest in real estate. However, building equity is not the reason that I believe our house is the best purchase we have made to date.
You see, our house has appreciated some over the years, but honestly, we’ve put enough money into it, that it’s probably a wash. So then, what are the reasons for my claim that it has been our best purchase?
What made this purchase so “smart”
We Thought Ahead. Way ahead.
We bought our house before kids - before we even considered ourselves “grown-ups”. We thought beyond the short-term future. We knew that with this house we would have enough room for children one day.
We were even familiar enough with the school district to decide the area would be a good choice for a family. The house was only 5 years old, all brick, and seemed easy to maintain. We were getting a solid house that was going to last for the long haul. Twenty years later, we are still here.
We bought our house for much less than the amount we qualified for
Just 2 months before purchasing our home, we were on the verge of building a house that was going to cost us $80,000 more than the house we ended up buying.
We already purchased a lot (later sold) and even received a quote from a builder. Then, we came across a house for sale online.
It was similar to what we were going to build, but definitely smaller. It was also on a better lot in a neighborhood just across the street from where we were going to build. Most importantly, it was going to be a much lower monthly payment!
It felt right. It felt comfortable. No fear of getting in over our head, or any pressure that our income must increase to truly afford it.
What else did spending less on our home allow us to do?
It allowed us to afford a small lake cottage 2 years later!
We never upsized
As our careers, income, and kids grew, we were often tempted to move into something newer, more modern, in a more “popular” area, with more square footage. But we didn’t.
When we thought through our motives for moving and what would be sacrificed, it just didn’t make sense. Some people end up becoming “house poor” as they buy more expensive homes over time. We decided we would rather be “house rich”
Our income grew, but our mortgage payment remained the same.
We paid our 30-year mortgage off in 15 years
As years went by, our mortgage payment became so reasonable that we started paying extra every month. A LOT extra. The balance was significantly decreasing so I decided it was going to be our mission to pay it off altogether!
My goal was to have it paid in full by age 40, and while we missed that deadline by a year, we still got it done.
Not only did we now have an incredibly secure feeling for our family, but eliminating our mortgage also freed up a nice chunk of money for new investments!
Once we were done paying off the house, we began aggressively saving money in 529 plans for our children. So, I guess when it comes to our home, our motto has been:
“Stay where you are and you’ll go far.”
We’ve taken good care of our home. We’ve given it several facelifts to keep it updated, made some repairs and replacements, and we cherish it dearly!
Our decision to purchase and remain in our house year after year has truly benefitted us beyond what I could have ever imagined.