Everywhere you turn, you hear how bad it is to carry around debt. So naturally, it’s logical to think that buying a home with cash – or sinking as much cash as possible into your home to avoid the massive debt associated with a financial health.

But there’s a lot to consider when contemplating purchasing a home with cash versus obtaining financing via a mortgage.

Cash Cuts Costs – And Wins Bidding Wars

Paying cash for a home eliminates the need to pay interest on the loan and many closing costs. “When buying a house with cash, there are no mortgage LLC, headquartered in Chicago.

Paying all cash can also make your purchase offer more attractive to sellers. “In a competitive market, a seller is likely to take a cash offer over other offers because they don’t have to worry about a buyer backing out due to financing being denied,” says Peter Grabel, managing director, MLO Luxury Mortgage Corp in Stamford, Conn.

A cash home purchase also has the flexibility of closing faster (if desired) than one requiring financing, which could be attractive to a seller. Those benefits to the seller shouldn’t come without a price. “A cash buyer might be able to obtain the property for a lower price and receive a ‘cash discount’ of sorts,” says Grabel.

Also, a cash buyer’s home is not leveraged, which allows a homeowner to sell the house more easily – even at a loss – regardless of market conditions.

Mortgages Can Also Make Sense

Obtaining financing also has significant benefits. “Even if a buyer has the ability to pay cash for a home, it might make sense to not tie up a lot of cash to purchase real estate,” says Grabel. Doing so could tie your hands down the road. Thus, by opting to go with a mortgage, you can give yourself some more flexibility in some cases.

“Cash buyers need to be sure to leave to leave themselves plenty of credit score will look like in the future, how much the home will then be worth or other factors that determine approval for a mortgage.

Selling a home bought with cash could also be a problem if the owners stretched a lot financially to buy it. “If cash buyers decide it’s time to sell, they need to make sure they will have sufficient cash reserves to put down as a deposit on the new home,” says Grabel.

Paying cash also has tax implications. “In most cases, mortgage interest payments are tax deductible,” says Semrad. The reduced tax obligation may be an advantageous way to finance the house.

Depending on the state of the stock market, Semrad also notes that saving on mortgage interest by paying cash might not be financially prudent. You could be making less than that money might have earned had you taken out a mortgage and invested the cash you didn’t spend on your house in the market.

Not having a mortgage could also negate a homestead exemption if you find yourself seriously  in debt in the future. Most states grant consumers a certain level of protection from creditors regarding their home. Some states, such as Florida, completely exempt the house from the reach of certain creditors. “That means, regardless of the value of the house, creditors cannot force its sale to satisfy their claims,” says Semrad.

Other states set limits ranging from as little as $5,000 to up to $550,000. Here’s how it works: If your home is worth $500,000 and the home’s mortgage is $400,000, your homestead exemption could prevent the forced sale of your home in order to pay creditors the $100,000 of equity in your home as long as your state’s homestead exemption is at least $100,000. If your state’s exemption is less than $100,000, a bankruptcy trustee could still force the sale of your home to pay creditors with the home’s equity in excess of the exemption.

Having a mortgage won’t completely protect your money, however. “If a homeowner left the funds in the bank and financed the house, a judgment creditor could lien the bank account and use the majority of the funds to satisfy its claims,” says Semrad.

The Bottom Line

The best advice when considering which option makes the most sense is to opt for the choice that gives you the bigger bang for your buck. Also, ask yourself which will provide the greater return on your investment.

“Paying cash for the full purchase price of a house is similar to investing in a bond that pays the same interest rate you’d pay with a mortgage,” says James Bregenzer, owner of Bregenzer Group LLC, a private equity and capital management company in Indianapolis, Ind. For example, opting to not pay a 30-year mortgage with a 5.5% interest rate is essentially the same as realizing a 5.5% return on the investment price.

If you decide to purchase a house with a loan, make sure you can easily afford the principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, homeowner association and other fees each month. And no matter how you pay for a house, make sure to have an emergency savings account equal to6 to 12 months of expenses in case your personal economy declines, and you need a financial buffer.

Buying a Home : Cash vs Mortgage by John Smith | MSN Real Estate