First-Time Home Buying Guide

Buying a home is a big deal.

Too often, I think people rush into home ownership because it's seen as a sign of adulthood and financial responsibility.

But owning a home is a big commitment, it's not a guaranteed good investment, and it's a truckload of work. (I've been a homeowner for only two years and I already have a growing list of things to do and contractors to call...it's not always the creative paradise remodeling shows make it out to be).

And last but not least, believe me, lots of people own homes and yet their finances are a mess! Home ownership can be a smart long-term move, but you want to know what you're getting into.

With that said, I know that if you're reading this, you're probably going to buy a house anway, that's find; I did too. So here I've put together a first time home buying guide to wrap up our best advice over the last few years in one place. Enjoy!

How to buy your first home
Ask yourself: 'Is it really time for me to buy a home?'

Don't buy a home just because everybody's doing it (they're not) or because your Uncle Joe told you that's stupid to "throw money away" on rent (he's wrong, too).

Don't buy a home because it's a buyer's market or just because of low mortgage rates. Buy a home because you want to be a homeowner. Buy a home because you're settling down and need a place for live for at least five years. And only buy a home if you're financially ready.

Determine how you will afford your home
For most of us, our home is the most expensive thing we'll ever buy. And for most of us, we need one big loan to do it--a mortgage.

If you remember all the foreclosures that happened during the recession, a mortgage is not something to be taken lightly.

To pay for your first home, you'll need good credit, a steady job, and a sizable chunk of cash for a down payment.

Go shopping for your first home
Avoid creating a financial disaster by preparing your finances before going house hunting!

In a perfect world, you would commit to buying a home and get mortgage pre-approval before stepping foot into your first open house. Obviously, it may be you didn't realize you wanted to own a home until you see your dream home. Either way, shopping for a home can be a long and taxing experience.

Seal the deal at closing
As if getting a mortgage and finding the perfect house wasn't enough, you'll soon learn that it's only half of the home-buying process.

And, that's a wrap! Our first time home buying guide. Hope it's useful. Do let us know what you think and if there are any topics you'd like to see us cover in the future! Happy home buying!

Comments

The Best Way To Budget? Try Pen And Paper -- How Bullet Journaling Can Fix Your Spending

Bullet journaling is a new and trendy way to track your spending. Using pen and paper can make you more active in your budgeting and can be fun too. Here's how to start keeping a bullet journal. You can hear it in the swell of retro-inspired music. You can see it in the resurgence of vinyl records and vintage cameras. You can feel the hum of simple circuitry in the air. Analog is back. Analog products fill a very real, very legitimate desire to untether from the digital world we've been enslaved by. In a society where the speed of information is ramping up at an exponential rate, the world of analog is a reminder to slow down and connect to your surroundings. The analog approach can be implemented in a variety of ways -- even budgeting. The bullet journal community has embraces this pen and paper approach to money-management, developing simple and time-saving methods to track and organize your finances offline. What is bullet journal budgeting? The goal of bulle...

How to Recognize the Signs of a Gambling Problem

Whether it's buying a weekly lottery ticket or taking an annual trip to Vegas to blow off some steam, gambling is a fun and harmless diversion for many people. For others it can become a problem that creates a variety of issues, including extreme financial hardship and deep debt. Let's take a look at some of the tell-tale signs of a gambling problem. When Gambling Goes Beyond Entertainment Win or lose, gambling should be nothing more than a fun activity. When it stops being fun and becomes something that dominates your thoughts or conversations, that's a sign it's becoming a problem. Gambling with Money Meant for Other Things It's one thing to have a few dollars set aside every week for lottery ticket or putting a line item in your entertainment budget for a trip to the casino every few months. It's something else entirely if you're gambling with money intended for other things like rent, food, and paying bills. Gambling with money originally planned to c...

How to Avoid Debt Consolidation Scams

If you're in significant debt, the prospect of becoming rent-free can be alluring. So alluring, in fact, that you might find yourself caught in any number of scams along the way. One common way to pay off debt is through consolidation. This involves combining all your debt and taking out a loan that goes toward paying it off each month. Debt Consolidation can help simplify and streamline the debt payoff process, and it might even save you a little bit of money, too. Still, the debt consolidation industry is rife with scams. Companies might say they offer debt consolidation when, in reality, they're for-profit debt settlement companies looking to take advantage of people. Warning signs of a debt consolidation scam When you're searching for a way to consolidate and pay off your debt, you might come across companies online that promote debt consolidation. But some of these companies aren't offering to help you with debt consolidation. Instead, they're d...

Greatvest Tools

Search This Blog