Did you know that 65% of Americans own their home? Do you own or rent your home? The first two years that my husband and I were married we rented a house. It was nice to not have to worry about home maintenance and lawn care, but I just hated that every month we were paying a large chunk of money into something that had no return investment. Here are some of my tips to help you find your home.
We did some research to see what it would take to get a Florida Mortgage. It really helped that my boss’s wife was a mortgage broker at our bank. She suggested that we get pre-qualified for a mortgage. This was a great way to start so we would know what we could afford. We didn’t want to spend our whole paycheck on our house, and this helped use look at houses that were in our payment range. In the end, our mortgage was just $200 more per month than our rental, and that was mostly because of taxes and insurance.
Other factors we needed to consider were the age of the house and which features we wanted to have in it. We also did not want to have to spend a lot on repairs. However, I did have a few things I really wanted in our first home. I wanted a dishwasher, a back yard, and at least 2 bathrooms. Our house had a back yard, a portable dishwasher, and the second bathroom was in the garage. Old homes in Florida had bathrooms in the garage so you could clean off before you went into the house after going to the beach. It’s important to know what you want since buying a house is a huge investment.
One last tip: t’s all about the location! You always have to consider the location of your home. What schools are in your area? Is it close to your job? And is it near your favorite store? Our first home was the last house our realtor showed us. It was 5 minutes from our jobs, 2 minutes to Publix, and 10 minutes from the mall. It really was the perfect first house!
These are just a few things that may help you if you are considering buying a home. Do you have any other tips to add?