Five Tips for First-Time Homebuyers

Buying your first home is a big deal, one that you shouldn't take lightly. You are looking at the most expensive thing that you will ever own. It is also a crazy real estate market. Homes aren't on the market long before they are sold, so you need to be as ready as possible before you start this new journey that you are on.

So, what can you do? Here are some tips for first-time home buyers.

Make sure that you are ready… You are going to need to have your finances settled before you take the leap into homeownership. You aren't going to want to have two car loans and a bunch of credit card debt. In fact, you need to make sure that you don't have a lot of debt. If you do, you may struggle to get a mortgage. Take this time to get your finances in order, before you find a home that you love and realize that you aren't ready.

…Not just financially. Buying a home is a big commitment. Are you ready to live in one place for years? Are you happy where you currently live or would you want to try living somewhere else for a while? You aren't going to want to buy a home and then move to another state in a year or two. It is important that you feel ready to settle down in one place.

You need to know what you can afford. The truth is that it can be hard to figure out how much you can afford on a home. The first thing that you need to realize is that a home doesn't just come with a big mortgage. You are also going to have to pay for water, sewerage, electricity, garbage, cable, internet, and so on.

Some of these things you may already be paying for, such as a cell phone. If you are renting, you may also be paying for electricity. However, you need to take everything into account before you decide on what you can afford for a monthly mortgage. You also need to be able to put some money aside for home repair and renovations.

You also need to know the difference between wants and needs. Before you even step foot in a home, you need to sit down and think about what you want and need. You may need two bedrooms, so you can have a home office to work out of. What if you want kids? Do you want them to each have their own rooms? How many bathrooms will you need? It may be nice to have two or three bathrooms, but if it is just you and your spouse, that might be a want, not a need.

You need to get preapproved if you want any chance at buying a home. Since the market is so tight, you need to get preapproved before you start looking at homes. Not only will this help you decide how much you can afford when it comes to a home, but you will also be ready to move on it if you make a deal. Many sellers won't accept contracts from people who aren't preapproved, simply because it could slow the process down.

Before you even start shopping for homes, you need to get your finances in order. You also need to make sure that you know that you are ready to settle down and stay in the same place for a few years. 

You also need to figure out what you want in a home and what would be nice (and what you could live without). An extra bathroom would be nice, but you can't change the number of bedrooms in a home, so it is important that you figure out how many you will need. You should also never start looking unless you are preapproved. This will give you a leg up in the real estate market today.

Previously published on Medium and/or Newsbreak.