A Guide to Buying a Home

Juliet D'cruz

Updated on:

 

Are you thinking about buying a home? If you are, you’re not alone.

According to a 2018 study, house buying is a priority for more than 75% of Americans. Everyone wants a slice of land, no matter how big or small, to call their own.

However, as anyone who has bought a home can tell you, the house buying process isn’t always easy to navigate. To help you sail through it like a real-estate mogul, we’ve put together this guide.

Read on to learn all about how to buy a home.

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Make Sure You’re Ready

Buying a home is an investment in every sense of the word.

Of course, from a financial perspective, it’s expensive. It’s something that you can still have to work towards paying off 30 years later. Make sure you’re at a place where you feel comfortable making such a commitment.

On an emotional level, buying a home can also be a lot. Even if you’re not selling a previous piece of property, moving into a new home can be taxing emotionally.

To make it easier on yourself, don’t sign for a home unless you love it. You should have no problem visualizing yourself living there years into the future.

Create a Budget

Of course, the best way to ensure that you can afford a home is to really take a serious look at your finances.

Spend some time calculating all of your monthly expenses. Then, factor in the money that you’d have to put towards a mortgage each month. Subtract all of that from your income and ask yourself—what can you afford?

As a general rule, most experts recommend keeping your housing payments to no more than one-third of your income. Of course, if you can keep it lower than that, you should. Just because you can afford a place doesn’t mean it’s the right home for you!

To help you save money for what’s important, consider looking into homes for sale by owner.

Make a List of Priorities

Once you know your budget, get to work making a list of priorities. These are things that you need or want your home to have.

Now is the time to be honest with yourself. It’s okay to want practical things, like a home with a new roof and three bedrooms, as well as seemingly less important things, like south-facing windows or a terrace.

You’re going to be the one living in your home, so you deserve to get what you want. Just remember that you can also renovate your home once you’re living there!

Find the Right Realtor

It’s tempting to try and find a home on your own, especially if you feel like you know the area you’re moving to. However, hiring a real estate agent to help you find a new home (and sell your current one, if necessary) is almost always a worthwhile investment.

Realtors have connections and resources that allow them to introduce you to more homes than you’d ever be able to see on your own. They also understand the market and can help you get a fair price.

Do your research when looking at different realtors to ensure you end up working with someone you trust. You want there to be a level of comfort between the two of you.

Make an Offer and Negotiate

Once you and your realtor land on a home you like, it’s a good idea to make an offer as soon as possible. In competitive housing markets, homes get snatched up quickly.

It’s sad to say, but if you snooze (or rather think things over), you lose.

Your realtor can help you decide on a fair offer to make. This may be close to the listed price, or it may be quite a bit cheaper. After that, the seller will respond to your offer, and hopefully, the two of you will reach an agreement.

Schedule an Inspection

Scheduling an inspection is another cost that most people dread, but the truth is, it’s a small price to pay. In some cases, it can even end up saving you money.

A home inspector will go through the property to find any form of damage that the seller didn’t mention before. If they unearth something, it gives you bargaining power.

You can then return to the negotiation tables and demand a lower price. If the problem is severe enough, you can also choose to walk away and find another place.

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Move

After the inspection, if you’re still interested in your home, it’s time to sign all of the necessary paperwork. Congratulations, you’re now a homeowner!

Once the deed is yours, your final step is to move in. Depending on the distance between your previous place of residence and your new home, that can be an easy process or a taxing one.

If you have able-bodied friends and family members, you can enlist them to help you out. If you don’t feel like dealing with the heavy lifting, don’t be afraid to work with professional movers.

Buying a Home Made Easy

Buying a home can be stressful, especially if you’ve never done it before. However, with a little planning beforehand, you can make the process as stress-free as possible.

Use this guide to help make the house buying process a breeze. By planning for the steps laid out in this guide, you’ll have no issues getting the home of your dreams and starting the next chapter of your life.

Are you looking for more real-estate guides and tips? If you are, make sure to check out the rest of our site for more great content.