When deciding to buy your own home, it is important to prepare in advance to enter the market. Simply waking up one morning and deciding to buy a home is not the way to go about it.
You have to have a game plan when it comes to entering the market. It starts before you even contact an agent.
These five steps may seem like no brainers and trivial but many people don’t think about these things and just enter the market anyways.
Here are five ways you can prepare yourself to start looking for your first home.
1. Prepare yourself for the process: Entering the housing market can be intimidating for first time homebuyers. It can be a lot to absorb as you start to search for a home.
It is important to prepare yourself on the home buying process. Where do you want to live? How much are you willing to spend? What do you want your monthly payment to be? These are all questions you should have answers to before you enter the market.
Once you are ready to answer those questions, examine your finances and start the process of finding a real estate agent. An agent you are comfortable with. One that will understand you and what you are looking for. Finding the right agent is important because they will find you a home, guide you and educate you along the way.
Finding the right home is more than just looking on Zillow and realtor.com. You need to prepare yourself for the process and what it entails.
2. Evaluate your finances: Are you in a position to buy? Are you comfortable with where you are financially? Could you make the necessary financial commitment?
These are questions you have to ask yourself before you decide to buy your first home. If you cannot definitively answer those questions, you are best served waiting and saving for when the time is right.
Buying a home is the most important financial decision of your life. You cannot rush it! You must be in the right place financially.
3. Develop a budget: Developing a budget is an important part of preparing yourself to become a home owner. You will need to budget your finances when you buy your first home. The sooner you put yourself on a budget, the sooner you get used to managing your money this way. It will be better for you when you own your home to manage your money.
4. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! You need to have money available to buy your first home. Whether it be an inspection, binder deposit or putting down a certain percentage of your down payment at P&S, you need to have money available to you to buy a home. It is important to save as much money as possible so that you can make purchasing a home a reality.
5. Spending and your credit score: If you are ready to buy a home, it is important that you manage your spending and not accumulate debt. As I have mentioned before, your credit score is everything!
The less debt you have, the better your credit score. It enhances your chances of getting into a good program and getting a better rate.
Buying a home is a process. Don’t just jump into it. Prepare yourself before you entertain the prospect of owning a home. These steps could help you do that.
Email me at [email protected] if you have any questions on how to prepare yourself to buy a home.