You’ve decided to purchase a home and are trying to work out what you can afford. The first step you should take in determining what you can pay for is to speak to a mortgage lender. Actually the best step you can take is to undergo the mortgage process to the point where you can get a pre-qualification letter. You must also think about your general financial circumstances in determining how much you can afford to spend on a home purchase.
Buying property at present isn’t for sissies. However there’s a massive supply of homes priced at levels not seen since 2004, so you can take advantage if you have the money and can hang on to a home for five years or more. One blogger referred to the glut as, “You could argue everything’s on sale today.” Just follow the home buying strategy below, and you too could profit from buying a home.
* Location, location, location.
Perhaps the maximum attention is paid to the location when going shopping for a home. A couple choosing to build a home and family would prefer a house in the suburbs. While a single person will be looking for an apartment in town. Home buying can mean different areas to people at different stages of life.
You should also pay attention to factors such as likely capital growth, buying and selling costs (including taxes), interest rates, and how attractive the location will be for tenants and future buyers.
* How much house can you afford?
Homeowners who overstretched their budgets to pay for the house they wanted caused many of the problems that we’re seeing at present in the real estate market. Prioritize the features that are important to you, so you’ll be able to make tradeoffs once you’ve established your budget.
The best way to stay focused when home buying is to only visit houses you know you can afford. Make sure that you know just how much a bank will be willing to lend you as a house loan. That way there will be less heartbreak and more concrete options that you can focus on. Try and do all the research you can before hand, so that the actual visit is painless and stress free.
* House Size Matters
How many rooms do you need? Is there a special requirement for a member of the family who is medically challenged? Remember a heart patient cannot climb stairs to reach his bedroom. An infant’s room needs to be right next to its parents. If you have a physically handicapped family member who uses a wheel chair, you will need a ramp to enter and exit the main door. Some personal considerations will also go into home buying.
During a housing slump, it’s possible to buy a large home at significantly less than its listing price. This is because so many people are desperate to sell. Remember to take into consideration the physically challenged family member who may need wheelchair access, or the heart patient who cannot climb too many stairs to get to her room.
* Find a way to finance your new home
There are a number of mortgage loans nowadays that suit many different people for different reasons. The three most common are fixed rate, where your payment is fixed for the life of the loan, adjustable rate, where the rate can go up or down after a few years, depending on the market, and interest only mortgages, where for a specified time you’re allowed to make payments that cover only the interest portion of your monthly mortgage payment.














