How to Know When You are Ready to Buy a Home

January 24, 2017

Considering taking the gigantic leap into house-buying? But how do you know when you are ready to buy a home? I've got a few helpful pointers for you here.

As some of you know, my fella and I are saving for a house. I know, look at me acting all adultish, right? Frankly, it blows my mind.

But seriously, it has been a steep learning curve. There are things we have to consider and plan for that I hadn’t even thought of. It’s just plain stressful and confusing.

Luckily, we are definitely making progress towards this ultimate goal and I feel confident in our decision to move forward sooner than later. That being said, how do you really know when you are ready to buy a home?

Again, while I have yet to take this ultimate, scary plunge into the deep, dark abyss that is home ownership, I have put a lot of thought and research into the whole process. Here is what I have learned…..

Lease

If you are currently locked into a lease, you will need to be strategic about when you purchase a home. You don’t want to be stuck paying rent or a huge penalty just because you fell in love with a house prior to  your lease being up. In fact, I don’t recommend even starting to look for homes until you’re close to your lease being up.

Once that time grows closer, consider chatting with your landlord about options. Can you pay month to month after your lease is up? Will they allow you to find a subleaser? Stuff like that. Nevertheless, I’d still recommend budgeting for at least one month of overlap rent.

Staying Put

If you have any inkling that you will want or need to move within 5 years of purchasing a home, you may want to reconsider. Buying a home is an expensive and stressful endeavor. Not only will you be responsible for closing costs, but generally the first few years of your mortgage are mostly devoted to paying interest. Only after about 5 years will you actually start making enough of a dent on your principle to make a profit. Of course, every market is different and you might make major equity in only a year, but 5 years is a good rule of thumb.

You will also want to consider capital gains. If you sell your home within two years of purchasing, you can lose out big time in taxes. You can read more here.

No Looming Debt

If you have major debt, just say no to house-buying until that is more under control. Remember, a mortgage is a debt – and a big one – and if something happens to your income, you could potentially lose everything to default, foreclosure, or even bankruptcy.

You Can Afford a Fixed Mortgage

Seriously, folks, if y’all can’t afford a fixed mortgage, step away from the house and run. Investopedia says it perfectly:

The main advantage of a fixed-rate loan is that the borrower is protected from sudden and potentially significant increases in monthly mortgage payments if interest rates rise.

An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), on the other hand, changes with the market. So while you may initially get a lower rate, eventually the interest rate will surpass the going rate for fixed-rate loans. My friend Emmy had her mortgage go up 25% in one year because she got sucked into an ARM. Plus, if you want to switch to a fixed-rate, you’ll have to deal with closing costs again. Ouch.

Be Prepared for Upkeep

Here’s the thing: I know renting can totally blow. You want to make something of your own while also building equity and avoiding ass-ish neighbors and landlords. I get that. But you need to remember what else comes with home ownership: upkeep.

Even if you purchase a home or condo with an HSA, you will still be responsible for the leaky faucet, shattered window, or broken washing machine. You’ll also need to perform regular maintenance on your home and appliances to keep them running at tip-top shape. This all equals money and if you aren’t prepared for that, it can really, really suck. Like “I maxed out a high-interest credit card because I wasn’t prepared” suck.

Stable Relationship

If you’re considering purchasing a home with a spouse, partner, or even a friend or family member, you will absolutely want to make sure that your relationship with that person is rock solid. Just like having a baby won’t save a precarious relationship, neither will buying a home. So, for the love of Pete and his dragon, only purchase a home with someone you trust with your life. Dramatic as it sounds, too much is at stake.

 

I certainly hope this helps give you a clearer picture of how to know when you are ready to buy a home. Stay tuned for our next house-buying post, How to Qualify for the Best Mortgage Possible, to learn more about the specific financial qualifications of purchasing a home.

56 comments so far.

56 responses to “How to Know When You are Ready to Buy a Home”

  1. Nicely Describe. Communities recently sell many properties and more demands are coming with the positive response .

  2. you have to financially stable to buy a house, and always make or find a house which you can live easily.

  3. Agent Schoen says:

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  4. Matt Worthy says:

    Fantastic blog! But most importantly, you should inspect a home before going to buy it.

  5. shiza says:

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  15. carry says:

    What an interesting premise, and a fascinating way to go about telling a story! I like the innovation, and it sounds as though the memoir part and the fiction part blend together effectively. Glad you enjoyed it, Hayley.This site

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  17. carry says:

    Yes. Please let’s address our property tax issue. Every person I know in my age group plans on exiting the state because of their yearly property tax burden. It’s impossible to retire here in the homes we worked so hard to own. This is so sad and a serious issue that is not receiving any real attention. New Jersey is viewed as a greed state that will implode one day.locksmith

  18. tuky says:

    What an interesting premise, and a fascinating way to go about telling a story! I like the innovation, and it sounds as though the memoir part and the fiction part blend together effectively. Glad you enjoyed it, Hayley.finding a Realtor

  19. lisa says:

    You make some valid points, but as the article states regardless of how much interest or whatnot you would throw away you’d still walk away with over $300k in gains tax free on top of the principal that was paid back over the 10 years.

    With ultra low interest rates and modest mortgage payments after 10 years the remaining mortgage is only $275k. This would mean $125k of principal in the home. Count on top the $300k+ in gains and the person would have $425k+ in net worth starting from $20k. That’s over 2000% gain on original principal in net worth.

    In the stock example, you made the assumption that people save but statistics show thatr average Canadian saves less than 2% of their pay. On top of that less than 10% of Canadians will invest in anything other than GICs and high interest savings so the likelihood of your scenario coming true is minimal. Buying a home forces savings and is easy for people to understand. Pay my mortgage and let rising prices help me to retirement.

    For 99% of the population real estate is probably their best and only investment. I don’t disagree with your argument, but with leverage from real estate and the risk averse nature of real estate it’s the best advice for the normal guy.we buy houses maryland

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  23. lisa says:

    Your dream home sounds a lot like mine, minus the chickens. (Though I wouldn’t mind having neighbors who have chickens that I could buy eggs from.) Our next family adventure is taking us up to Boise and I’m hoping to find a dream home in the next few years to make our own. I hope everything works out for you (and selfishly because I want to see all the deets on how you renovate!) Sending prayers and hopeful energy that your home sells in time for you to snatch up the home you want!residence laval

  24. lisa says:

    My wife and I have been looking for apartments for rent, and I think that having some tips on what to look for would be helpful for us. I’m glad that you talked about looking into closet space when you’re looking at apartments for rent! My wife needs her closet space, and I think that being able to check into that while we’re shopping around for downtown apartments for rent would be a good thing for us! Thanks for the tips.raingo gutters

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  26. lisa says:

    The example in this post is very simplistic. Once you take into account mortgage payments, insurance, property taxes, and maintenance, it’s easy to figure out you’ll have more money at the end of the month if you rent rather than buy. What you do with that money is the real question.

    Assuming you’re renting and saving some money – if you invested $20k on an S&P 500 ETF in January 2009 and then put another $1000 every month into the same ETF, right now you’d be sitting on around $300k – more than doubling all the money you put in. In short, you invested $144k and now you have $300k, minus capital gains tax and whatnot.

    By contrast, to those $308k you made selling your house, you need to subtract 10 years worth of interest payments, insurance, property tax, and maintenance costs – all the clogged pipes, broken appliances, wall re-paintings, and maybe even replacing the roof. I don’t know exactly how much that would leave you with, but I’m sure it’s a very significant dent.Allgreen Properties

  27. lisa says:

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  28. lisa says:

    Omg I’m beyond happy for you but I’m with Doug hopefully you’ll stay a bit longer at this one. Nicks with you he’s had itchy feet for 15 years but I put my foot down so he bought our first motorhome! So much love sent to you with this message. I’m sure you’ll make it wonderful as you always do.malta property

  29. annieyu says:

    Your dream home sounds a lot like mine, minus the chickens. (Though I wouldn’t mind having neighbors who have chickens that I could buy eggs from.) Our next family adventure is taking us up to Boise and I’m hoping to find a dream home in the next few years to make our own. I hope everything works out for you (and selfishly because I want to see all the deets on how you renovate!) Sending prayers and hopeful energy that your home sells in time for you to snatch up the home you want.markham homes for sale

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    My wife and I have been looking for apartments for rent, and I think that having some tips on what to look for would be helpful for us. I’m glad that you talked about looking into closet space when you’re looking at apartments for rent! My wife needs her closet space, and I think that being able to check into that while we’re shopping around for downtown apartments for rent would be a good thing for us! Thanks for the tips!residence laval

  31. lisa says:

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  32. lisa says:

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  36. carry says:

    Thanks Jenny! From the term “debt snowball” I’m guessing your on the Dave Ramsey plan…I freakin love Dave Ramsey. Those student loans will be gone in no time and It’s going to feel awesome. Glad my post was encouraging, that was my hope!Forett Bukit Timah Condoh

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  40. lisa says:

    I am interested in, but I think I would rather start small first. I’m hoping (way down the road) to buy a house with a basement that we can rent out. Just to get a feel for it and see if it’s something I would really like to do. It requires a lot of effort and money, and I would hate to invest so much only to find out it’s too much to deal with. You should write a post about the tenant taking you to court! heating companies toronto

  41. lisa says:

    Very nice tips which anyone can apply when selling their property. A word of mouth through friends and family is also fantastic since you can get a buyer just there!.
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  42. lisa says:

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  45. lisa says:

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  52. lisa says:

    Thank you so much for your support! We wish you the best of luck with your dream home, and we will be sure to keep you updated on our own progress.Real Estate

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