Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Home

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

So you think you are ready to buy a home...
There are many questions you need to ask yourself before you decide to seriously start your search.
There are lots of factors to consider & I'm going to outline what I consider to be important below.

What Can I Afford?

Take a deep look into your personal finances. Look at your monthly & annual income. Make sure you have a monthly budget & examine it. What are you able to allocate to home expenses? Do you have any money for a down payment saved? Do I have an emergency fund in place? Before you even visit a lender or mortgage broker, you should have a grasp on what you are comfortable with spending each month. Just because you can get approved for $X amount that results in $X monthly payment, that doesn't mean it's necessarily the right amount for you and your lifestyle. Bottom line - nobody wants to be 'house broke'.

What Kind of Home Works for Me?

Do you want a single family home? Maybe a condo or patio home? There are benefits & setbacks for each depending on the buyer. If you don't have the time or desire to take care of the exterior maintenance that goes with owning a single family home, maybe a condo [where you pay a monthly maintenance fee] is for you. New home or old home? Fixer upper or move in ready? New construction or existing home? These are all questions to ask yourself before you seriously start looking.

What Area Do I Want to be In?

This is very important. Do you want an urban or rural setting? City or suburb? Land or subdivision? Do you want to be near your work, schools, or family? How long are you willing to commute? Real estate prices are higher in some areas & more affordable in others. Your Realtor can help you look into how home prices & taxes vary from place to place.

What Are My Needs in a Home?

Do you need a ranch style or are you Ok with a 2-story? Contemporary or traditional? How many bedrooms & bathrooms? Is a basement or a garage necessary? What about overall square footage? Depending on your age, the size of your family, and your personal preferences all of this can vary. It's important to know your options & weigh your wants vs. needs. Your Realtor can help you identify what is available in your market & how the different options will affect the home prices.

Bottom line - with todays technology, information is literally at your fingertips. Don't be uninformed on one of the biggest financial decisions you will make. Here are some informative links for ya!

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Hope these tips help! Feel free to leave any additional tips you think are helpful in the comments :)

And just for fun, here are some home related Pinterest finds & links for you to devour :)


Dream Home Source: Customize your house & get an idea of how much it would be to build.


Ikea Hackers: Learn how to customize normal Ikea items into awesome things for your house.
[I love Ikea items as they are, so I can only imagine!]


I do this! Fill one of those sink scrubbers with a 50/50 mix of dish soap & vinegar. Leave in your shower & scrub while you are in there! Such a time saver & really works!


This Site is like the mecca for home organization! Oh how I want to take a week & implement each and every one of these ideas!

Ok click the links & become addicted. Ready. Set. Go.
Enjoy your evening!!

xo
Sam

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6 Comments »

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response.

6 Responses to “Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Home”

Jamie said...

I am totally going to do that tub scrubber!

Janna Renee said...

This is all very good to know! We have talked about buying a house back home, so we need all the advice we can get!

Lindsay @ Trial By Sapphire said...

Oooh, those are good Pinterest finds!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Very informative :)

Unknown said...

Nice to know! I'm recently engaged and we'll be buying (or building) a home soon, so thank you for the info!! XOXO your newest follower

Unknown said...

All the questions are relevant and very useful while considering buying a home. I really appreciate your blog and would like to thank you for sharing all these valuable contents.
House Buyers Of America