Buying a new home is an exciting time in the life of a homeowner. The shift from renting to owning (or trading up to a larger or more beneficial home for your uniquely personalized needs) is a freeing experience that can quickly turn sour if you don’t budget properly for the change. First time home buyers in the United States are growing older and are now at an average age of 33 when purchasing a first home. This may give individuals more time to create wealth that will buoy them through the inevitable hard times to come, or it may give homeowners a longer window in which they can create credit cards and other revolving sites of debt that can crush a budget. For this reason it‚Äôs always essential to determine the costs before committing to a long term mortgage debt.
Start with your other debts.
Budgeting is a balancing act. In order to create the perfect harmony in your home, it’s important to understand where your money needs to go each month. This means calculating the repayment obligations on other, existing debts in order to identify and treat weaknesses in your overall financial situation. Consolidation loans are a great option for those with a number of credit accounts and high-interest rates to go along with them. Consolidating your debts and working aggressively to pay them off in the year that precedes a buying opportunity is a great way to lock in a favorable interest rate on your mortgage loan. This can save you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan on your home and creating a strong financial future in the process.
Taking stock of your assets and obligations before committing to buying a home is an important step for new or soon-to-be homeowners. This will help you keep your accounts in order and mitigate any risk of losing your home down the road as a result of non-payment.
Understand renovation needs upfront.
Any home that you may be considering purchasing will likely need a bit of work in order to make the space truly feel like home. Water filtration installations are a common solution that new homeowners look to plug into their system. Your water supply comes from the local authorities, and is often full of contaminants as it pours out of your home’s faucets. Installing a mid-stream water filtration system to filter out chlorine, impurities, and sediment is the best way to ensure that your water supply is clean and safe for drinking and cooking. This is typically best done during the move-in process to ensure that your home will always have a purified water supply that is protected with a carbon filter or other water filtration system protections.
Similarly, checking on the air conditioning unit is a must before buying any home. New homeowners should quickly find a technician that they trust to conduct routine maintenance on their AC unit. This includes the periodic addition of fluids, cleaning of the HVAC system unit and ducts, and clearing out of debris from the filter and fan blades.
These and other smaller tasks are simply a part of homeownership, and budgeting for these improvement works and repairs is just par for the course. As you graduate from renter to owner you will have to take on a greater responsibility for the property’s well-being. No longer can you call a landlord to fix a broken pipe, water filter, or air conditioner. Instead, the task falls to you, so organizing your financial picture in the months and years leading up to your first purchase of a home is crucial for saving and budgeting in order to make the transition seamlessly.
