You have a green light from the mortgage company and your eye on a few houses you would love to own, so you feel you are more than ready to make an offer and make possibly one of the biggest purchases you will ever make. Buying your first home can be terribly exciting, but there is also a right and wrong time to do this. Before you start making offers and drawing up plans with the mortgage company, it is wise to take a step back from the situation and ask yourself a few highly important questions.
Will your employment be stable for the foreseeable future?
Your finances may seem stable right now and you may be in a job that you love, but how is the outlook five, ten, or even fifteen years down the road? Home loans are often set up on pretty long terms, even as long as 25 years or more. Therefore, it is incredibly important to know that you have a job that allows you stability or room to grow or skills that will allow you to find employment if something ever changes down the road.
Is there room in your budget in addition to the payment for your new home?
If you have only ever rented or leased a property to live in, you should know that owning your own home can be much different. Owning your home means that maintenance, repairs, and insurance will now become your responsibility. If you have enough room in your budget for a mortgage payment, but it leaves you very little wiggle room, you could definitely struggle financially with your new home purchase. It is best to only proceed with buying your first home if you also have enough money coming in to cover all of the new financial responsibilities you will have.
How large will your family grow?
This one is often overlooked with a first home purchase, especially for young married couples who have not yet started their family. However, making sure the first home that you buy is large enough to cater to a growing family down the road is important. You may be thinking that if you do decide to have children or have more children, you can simply sell the first home and move onto something bigger. Yet, this can be a lot harder than what it sounds. It is a much better idea to buy a home that gives you room to grow if that is a possibility in the near future.
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