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| Want to Buy a Home? |
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It's never too early to start planning when you want to buy a home. These four steps will put you on track. |
| 1. Decide on your price range |
Calculate how much you can afford. Remember, owners have different monthly bills than renters. Along with the mortgage payment, you’ll have to pay homeowner’s insurance, utilities and property tax. If you are realistic about your limits, you can focus on the right price range. |
| 2. Look at your current budget |
Have a look at your income and both long- and short-term expenses. Include any expected changes. Will that new job mean a rise in pay? Are you planning an expensive wedding or making a big purchase, such as a car? A careful plan will show where you have flexibility in your cash flow. |
| 3. Open a savings account |
Keep a separate home-savings account and don’t dip into it. This is the time to cut back on your expenses as much as you can in order to save for the down payment. So, curtail dining out and delay the purchase of new furniture. Save tax refunds, cash gifts or bonus checks. Give yourself a financial goal and a fixed time to reach it, say six months or a year, and then assess your situation. |
| 4. Check out down-payment assistance |
If you are planning to get a loan for your next real estate purchaseit’s it would be nice to have a 20 percent down payment to minmize the profit added on the top of the lended amount. If this is not possible, don't worry, many lenders offer low down-payment products. Start investigating. |
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