When I was 25, I purchased my first home. It seemed to be the right thing to do and I thought that it was definitely the next step in life. Everyone follows the steps, right? You know the steps, college, find a job, get married, buy a home, and have a kid… Well, I did these in some order the wrong way, but anyway, I was single and I figured, hey I should own a home.

I found a for sale by owner who wanted to sell his home and happened to have an assumable mortgage (this was the early eighties). The house was $35K in Lubbock, Texas where I went to school and was around the college. Now these were not palaces, but they were nice homes. 2 bedroom, 2 baths, living room, kitchen and great, huge yards.

I believe this one step did send me on a path of accomplishment. I took one of the biggest steps in life, blew through it and have gone on from there. Do you think that taking one of the most honored dreams in America and accomplishing it is the path to future accomplishments?

Anyway, now, to the reasons to own a home in my opinion:

• Instant self-esteem - the fact that you have earned the right to own a home means that you have saved money (in most instances), have good credit that a bank sees as okay and that you have the guts to commit to living somewhere for awhile because you can’t leave as easily as you can when you rent somewhere.
  
  
• Building a nest egg in your equity instead of paying rent. Some people really rely on this equity because they figure that they can not save any other way and they were wasting the money with their landlord.
  
  
• Plenty of handyman experience opportunities. It is true that the more that you attempt in life, the bigger your self-esteem. Homeownership, unlike renting, gives you an opportunity to tackle big and small jobs with your own property at risk. In my house, I did projects all the time, like the time that I painted my kitchen pepto bismol pink. Now that was some risk!
  
  
• You can become a landlord if you like. Many people don’t know how to make someone else stick to a contract. This definitely tries your skills.
  
  
• You get a tax savings. The structure of our current tax model allows the government to pay part of your payment for you because you get a tax break.
  
  
• You establish roots and security. This can be good or bad for some people but most people say that they would prefer to have a place to call home, which I believe means that they own the home.
  
  
• You can get as many pets as you want - county ordinances allowing of course. I made the mistake of picking up stray dogs often. No one said that I couldn’t!
  
  
• And of course, the most frustrating part of homeownership for many of us… you get to use your emergency fund often while keeping your temper. There is nothing more frustrating than having an unexpected appliance leak all over the floor and ruin the flooring while having to replace the appliance too. This is all part of making you stronger… if there are no difficulties in life, you are dead. One of the six human needs is uncertainty according to Tony Robbins and this will certainly add a little drama and variety to your life.

So, that is my list of why everyone should own a home. If you have not had the opportunity to experience any of these yet, jump on the bandwagon. I will see you there.