Residential property is a big investment people work hard to get it. Buying your own home comes with quite a lot of emotions, responsibilities and rights. In the same vein, householders have rules to abide by. Currently, home ownership stays at 64.8%, indicating that more than half of the population owns a house. This makes it important to know certain basic information about home ownership. That said, here are three important aspects of home ownership you should know about.
- The power to use your property as collateral
This can be a double-edged sword, depending on how you look at it. Indeed, equity in your property offers householders the right to use it house as collateral. Because property is seen as an asset, lending establishments will value the property before making a loan. On the downside, however, if you fail to repay your loan on time, there’s an increased risk of losing your property. Financial experts normally advise against using your home as collateral. However, if you have the resources to pay off the loan (and on time), your property foreclosure may be on the low end.
Apart from collateral, you can make money from your property in other ways. For example, if you ever plan to move out of your property and list it on the market, you are still earning money except for the actual sale. This is just possible if you plan to sell the furniture and other valuables on the property. In organizing real sales, it’s advisable to seek help from experts. That way, you increase your chances of making higher sales.
- Your control rights
As expected, you have full rights to your home and everything in it. Actually, you most likely have control over the surrounding land as well. This is just to a certain extent and is supported by law. Hence, it is fine to have a meeting or have a party inside your property. However, you need to ensure your activities aren’t seen as disturbing your neighbours.
In exercising your right of control over your property, it may be illegal to transact a home business from the estate. Unless you have a legitimate permit from local authorities, you may not use residential property for certain businesses. If your activity violates the law, you may pay a fine or receive other sanctions from the state.
- Have an evacuation plan
This is a very important step that each home owner is anticipated to take. Whether you recently acquired property or not, having an evacuation plan is a sign of being proactive. It shows your readiness to face all eventualities that are unavoidable when you live in a property. In the event of a fire or emergency, your plan makes it easier to avoid the increased chance of death. How did you develop the strategy? First and foremost, every room in the house must have a safe exit. It could be a door or a window leading to an outdoor safe.
If the property is a multi-storey building, you may want to take other steps to make sure that the planned exit is secure. The overall goal of this strategy is to increase your chances of survival should the unexpected occur. Responsibilities increase dramatically if you live with your family or other people on the same property. According to the info, a house emergency can be saved if the exit plan is actually proven.