Tips for Buying Your First Home

I remember buying my first home.  The excitement of it all!  However, it was also overwhelming! 

Owning your home is a huge responsibility!  You need to ensure you are entirely prepared for it.

Here are a few things you should do before making that purchase!

Get Your Debt in Order

You don’t want to go into home ownership with a ton of consumer debt! 

Above all, I strongly recommend you get rid of any credit card debt you have.  Owning a home is expensive.  Stop throwing money away, paying interest charges.

One huge thing to consider is to create a budget!  Make sure you include your estimated house payment.  Read this for more info!

Save an Emergency Fund

Put some money away into an emergency fund before buying your first home.  Having your air conditioning break in your home, or maybe your car breaks down on your way to work one day.  I could go on and on with examples so please do this one thing for sure.  Save some money up for when these things happen!

I recommend having 3 to 6 months of expenses set aside for this. 

Read this for tips on saving more money.

Save a Down Payment and Determine How Much You Can Afford

If you bring home 5,000 dollars per month, you don't want your mortgage payment to be any more than 1,250 dollars.  In other words, 25% of your bring home pay is the max you should devote to your house payment.

Now, in that previous example, that 25% can buy you a home for 187,767 dollars provided you have 10% down.  In this case, 18,777 dollars down.

Above all, make sure you save a down payment and use some mortgage calculators to determine how much home you can afford!

Research Neighborhoods

You will most likely live in your new home for many years!  Do your research to ensure you are living in a place that fits your lifestyle. 

Also, if you have children, you need to focus on the school districts.  Ensure they are going to get a good education.

Also, look into the crime rates of each neighborhood you are seeking!

Have a Home Inspection Done

One of the biggest mistakes I made when I bought my first home.

After buying and living in my first home for several months, I started finding problems.  In some cases, costly issues.  Most of this could have been avoided had I paid for a home inspection.

I believe in most cases, this is a requirement, but I made another huge mistake in not having a realtor and bought my first home from a friend of mine.  I won't get into all that, but I am sure you can imagine.

In closing, I want to say congratulations on your new home or future new home!

It is such an exciting time!  This is only a very SMALL list of things to do and consider before buying your home!  Please, research everything to ensure you are making the wisest decision you can make.  For more financial advice, please visit us!

Above all, do NOT buy the first house you find!  Shop around and find the PERFECT home!