Purchasing your first home can sound pretty scary… especially if you're not sure how to get started. There's so much information out there and it can all get pretty overwhelming – believe me I know!
Over the last couple of years, my husband and I have been working hard to pay off our student debts and so we're now in the process of looking for our future home. Yay! 😀
Buying your first home should be a joy and not a pain, so in today's post I'm going to share with you a few of the things that have helped our family get on the right track.
1. Start Saving for your down payment
It's important to start setting aside a little money from each paycheck to put towards your future down payment. Purchasing a home is probably going to be one of the most expensive things that you're ever going to purchase, so it's important to start saving even just a little money to get you on the right track.
2. Find out what you can afford
Before purchasing your first home, it's important to take a realistic look at your finances to determine what you can actually afford. This means you'll need to take into account how much income your family is bringing in as well as any expenses and debts you're carrying.
When my husband and I started saving for our down payment, we made a strong effort to squash as much of our debt as possible, including our student loans. With these (mostly!) out of the way, it gives us more wiggle room to save for the home we really want!
To get a good idea on just how much you're going to need for your down payment, you'll want to look into home listings for the areas you might be interested in living. Then, you can use the free and convenient “Home to Be” app from The Co-operators to crunch the real numbers and get an estimate of your monthly mortgage payments.
Just enter the address of the home you're interested in as well as the offer price and estimated down payment and the app will give you a good estimate on what you'll likely have to pay for your monthly mortgage payments.
3. Do Your Research/Shop around for Mortgage rates
Before buying your first home, there are some very important things that you should look into so it's time to do some research! 🙂
You'll want to find out as much as you can about the area and neighborhood that you're interested in making your purchase.
Sounds like a lot of work right? Well, don't worry, it's not as tedious as it might sound!
Another great feature of the Home to Be app is that it can tell you exactly what you need to know about the area in which you're planning to purchase your home – including the overall appreciation/depreciation trends and home values for that neighborhood.
Be sure to also look into the different mortgage rates that are available out there and don't be afraid to shop around. Luckily, the Home to Be app has some excellent tips on how to get the best rate!
4. Look into hidden and extra costs of owning a home
One important but often overlooked thing to consider when purchasing your first home is what the hidden or extra costs might be.
As much as we all wish there weren't extra costs associated with buying a home, it's something you definitely need to be ready for but… don't stress… you got this! 🙂
You'll want to consider the costs of any potential repairs, the closing cost of the home as well as get an estimate of how much your home insurance will cost.
The award winning Home to Be app takes the guess work out of these hidden costs and helps shine a light on exactly what you need to know – all in one place. I just love how convenient and helpful the app has been in our own house hunting adventure!
This is only the beginning of our house hunting journey and we can't wait to share with you what we learn along the way!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The Co-operators. The opinions and text are all mine.
