Why start a home studio?

In spring my band Skatter Bomb decided to start recording our first full length album. At first we thought going into the studio was the way to go because it would save a lot of time and patience. While its true that it would have saved us a lot of time and work, we didn't have the insane amounts of money most studios are asking. A pretty standard rate right now is between $30 and $50 a hour and we just couldn't afford that. So we decided to weigh the pro's and cons of starting a home studio, check it out:
Pros:

1. Its cheaper to buy your own equipment once and have the ability to record many albums, side projects, and other bands.
2. Its something that you can do to make money, as long as you can match the quality and charge a lower price. In fact you don't even have to sound as professional as the other studios. If you charge a cheap price people will record with you (as long as you know people who need to record.).
3. It gives a satisfaction unlike any other to release a cd your proud of, that you created from start to finish.
4. You get all the credit. It wont say recorded by blah blah blah it will say recorded by you.
5. Once you start recording you can spend as much time as you like, no time constraints because of the studio time. This also enables you to say "You know what? I think we need to go back and re-record the drums on this track." which you can also do in the studio its just another 10 hours of work (300-500 bucks).

Cons:

1. It's still a big investment to make. Our studio cost us around $2000 bucks.( we mostly bought used gear but It still sounds great.
2. You've got to have a place to record. Your living room might work but if you want a room to sound good you have to make it sound good most the time. Its also hard to keep any room in your house full of recording gear for 3-4 weeks at a time. 
3. It takes a while to learn. While some recording programs come with tutorials and other training aids, there is no substitute for experience. You have to grow a new set of ears so to speak.
4. Mixing is tough when you get to close to the songs. If you don't have someone else help mix your songs, it may be hard to tell what needs to change. As your recording you get used to the way things sound and they begin to sound good no matter what. Having someone else there who hasn't been around for the whole recording process will greatly increase your chances of mixing it well.

I think its a decision every band has to think about before they start recording. It is a lot of effort to learn the ropes of recording but once you do it can save you a lot of money and give you a skill that can make you money, and give you total control of your songs.
check out my band Skatter bomb