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What Should I Know Before I Buy My First Home?

 
 
Photo of a beautiful white picket fence on bright green grass against a beautiful blue sky covered in clouds.
 

This is for the one who is thinking of buying a home for the first time; primarily a single person or it can even be for the one with a spouse.

More often than not too many of us are guilty of going off to buy our first homes without having done the appropriate research let alone realize what we would need to consider before doing so. We are so eager to buy our first homes and before we know it we find ourselves in deep waters with no life raft to cling to and a huge debt staring us in the face.

The first thing to remember is this: Never go out there and purchase your first home based solely on emotion. Do not feel that you must do this because of pressures from your newly married spouse, your in-laws, your family, or even your friends. Don't go out there and buy your first home in order to keep up with someone else.

There are certain things that you should know before you make the final decision as to whether or not it is the right time to buy your first home and this list is meant to get you started on the right track.

This list will help you to determine if it is indeed the right time:

  1. What type of home are you looking for? That is; condominium, family home, single family home, bungalow, other?

  2. What price range are you comfortable with?

  3. Can you afford to make a reasonable down payment without having to borrow it?

  4. Will you be able to afford the mortgage payments as dictated by the lending institution of choice?

  5. Are you presently employed in a reasonably secured job?

  6. Will you be able to continue your mortgage payments if an emergency were to occur? That is, if you were to lose your job unexpectedly, you were to get into an accident that caused you to either be laid up for a while or to lose your present job, or you became ill unexpectedly and was forced to give up your job?

  7. Would you have enough finances to cover your mortgage after dealing with your other monthly expenses; both fixed and variable?

The trick of the trade as they say is for you to first determine the type of home you are seeking. The price range and then a good look at your finances before you do anything else.

There is one thing that so many of us often fail to take into account and here it is. If you are not a handy person and do not like working with your hands then a home may not be for you.Why? Because if you own a home and are handy with your hands you can certainly help to keep your maintenance expenses down.

On the other hand, if you prefer not to have to deal with going out there to do such things as rake leaves, shovel snow, fix chimneys and roofs, and tend to backyards and repair driveways; then your first home probably should be a condominium.

You probably have the picture by now. Base your decision on logic and not emotion. Make sure that your finances are sound and then make your choice based on your preferences.

Here are some resources for your consideration:

Tips for a first time home buyer:
http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/services/mortgages/first-time-home-buyers/first-time-home-buyers-s-

How to buy my first home:
http://www.tarion.com/New-Home-Buyers/Pages/Top-Ten-Tips-For-New-Home-Buyers.aspx

A basic guide to buying your first home:
http://moneyfor20s.about.com/od/buying-a-home/

 
Author Donna Jodhan Initials. DJ.


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www.donnajodhan.com