Setting the Right Expectations for House Hunting
Buying your next home is an exciting prospect. Sometimes we can get swept away with the features we want in our new homes. So, let’s bring things back to reality and think about what you NEED your new home to have. Check out the tips below to help keep you on track when you start house hunting.
Create a Budget
One important thing to do before you start is to find out how much you can spend on a house. Once you figure this budget out, you can use a mortgage calculator to better understand your mortgage monthly payments (see Texas Loan Star for more information).
Using some kind of budgeting program will help give you a clear picture of how your mortgage payment fits into your monthly expenses. You’ll want to make sure you have plenty of money left over at the end of the month for savings, improvements, and m other miscellaneous items.
Prioritize what you need, what you want and what you can live without
Sit down and think about what your new house absolutely must have. We’re not talking about a bathroom, kitchen or bedroom either. Those are fairly standard for the vast majority of homes. Think about whether you need to be closer to work to have a better work-life balance. Is the house close to a good school? We’re talking about essentials – things you cannot live without.
Next think about what you want your new home to have that your current home doesn’t have. Think of these as upgrades.
Cut out the what can you live without
The pie-in-the sky stuff, like your own personal basement bowling alley, would be nice; however, you can probably continue to live perfectly fine without it. Is it worth it to spend thousands of dollars more on those luxury items when you could use that money elsewhere?
Take your list and start house hunting
Make a plan with your real estate agent and start looking at homes online to see what homes are out there and compare them with all of the items on your list. This will help you see if you can get everything on your list within your budget. If you can’t find a home you can afford with everything you want, it’s time to re-evaluate.
Re-Evaluate your list
Look back at your list and see where you can cut. Remember, you can always change things like flooring, carpet, paint, cabinets and appliances.
An updated, ready-to-use kitchen, for example, would be great, but maybe you can use the money you save on a lower priced house to update the kitchen later. You might even save money by doing the work yourself.
Finding the right home might take a little time. Preparing ahead of time, knowing what you really want in a house and having the right expectations makes the process easier and less stressful. Good luck!
Call Texas Loan Star at 713-802-0606 for more information!