Having a home mortgage instead of renting can offer some advantages, even during an economic crisis. These include greater stability of housing costs, the ability to make changes to the property, the mortgage interest tax deduction, and the option to rent part of the home. Read on to learn more about each of these advantages of having a mortgage and owning a home in general…

One advantage of owning your residence is that you can freely make changes or improvements to it (and retain their value), in response to economic conditions during an economic crisis. These might include installing smaller appliances, different heating equipment, more insulation, additional security devices, or an efficient water heater. A home owner can become more self-sufficient in some ways, such as planting a large vegetable garden or setting up a wind turbine. However, a drawback is that expensive maintenance costs can always unexpectedly appear and be the owner’s responsibility to pay.

If you have a fixed rate mortgage, there is no need to worry about the monthly payment changing, even during economic crisis. This advantage does not extend to an adjustable rate mortgage, but these usually at least have limits as to how much their payment amounts can change. The monthly cost for rented homes can change at any time (after the necessary amount of notice has been provided), and there is always the possibility that the owner will sell the property to someone else or even be foreclosed upon, if he or she becomes unable to afford the mortgage and taxes.

Another advantage is that you can rent out part of the home (or other buildings on the property, such as a garage or trailer) for housing or storage, to generate additional income which may be necessary during an economic crisis. Some landlords prohibit this, and sublet renting is less attractive to potential tenants, so owning a home is preferable in this way. A home owner can also do this with the entire home during a time of the year when he or she is elsewhere, or share the house with someone in exchange for a portion of the mortgage payment.

Finally, yet another advantage is that some people are eligible to deduct mortgage interest from their taxes, which does not apply to rent payments. This is a useful advantage in an economic crisis, as it frees up money which would otherwise be paid to the government. Some other additional tax deductions are available to home owners, including deductions for Private Mortgage Insurance and some types of local or state taxes.