Tired of being messed around by landlords?

Renting is a practical living solution for many Australians – that is, until it becomes an impractical one!

No matter how great your rental situation, you can't get away from the fact that you are living under someone else's roof.

That means that if they were to suddenly decide to sell their property, you could find yourself turfed out and once again looking for somewhere to live.

When you are young and don't mind a bit of upheaval, this may be no big deal.

Yet a few years down the track you may have a career underway and a list of other responsibilities – maybe even a family – and your priorities could well have changed.

Now you may crave a bit more stability in your living situation. The certainty of knowing that as long as you make your mortgage repayments, no one can make you leave your home – something you can't guarantee even if you are the most reliable of tenants.

This is what owning your own home can give you – true independence.

The advantages of paying down a first home loan over servicing someone else's mortgage are obvious – instead of that money disappearing forever from your account, it is going towards building equity in your property.

This equity can be used to help you fund further property purchases, such as an upgrade to a second home, or other financial endeavours.

It can even one day help you to secure property investment loans so that you can become a landlord and generate wealth through your own property holdings.

For those currently renting, the key thing to understand is that a home loan shouldn't be seen as something which ties you down and restricts your freedom.

Rather, it can set you free to be your own property master and to take real control of your living situation.