Here is a small checklist that would help you make sure that your first purchase doesn’t bring you a future full of regret:
1. Have you looked into the best payment modes? Have you checked out all the available mortgage plans, big banks, government home-buying programs, and credit unions locally available to you to tap? If you have, you should be confident that you would be getting a good deal. Signing a deal with a good lender who won’t take advantage of you at any point during the purchase should give you peace of mind.
Also, have you looked into good owner-financed homes up for sale lately? Those will allow you to save up significantly more than if you buy homes with regular loans. This is made possible by the fact that you would be dealing directly with the owner, one who, hopefully, have a heart, and not with any other lending institutions that would mostly likely have this heartless tendency to “compartmentalize” their clients.
2. Have you done enough shopping? In other words, are you buying impulsively? The “buying first home” jitters may in fact be that better part of your brain telling you to keep your options open! This house may seem like your dream house, but if you bide your time a little bit more, there may be other better dream houses and better deals that will come your way, ones that would be more practical and would prove to be the better investments. Don’t decide on your first look – in your over-enthusiasm, this could be deceiving.
3. Even if you think a house looks sturdy to you, call in a house inspector. Safety must not be compromised for aesthetics! After all, you are buying a property of your own with an eye to raising your own family there… and “family” includes children! Your house should be child-proofed. If the one you have set your eyes on fails in this respect, compute how much it would cost you to have the necessary adjustments to the house to effectively child-proof it, and include this cost into your decision-making.
4. Can you imagine yourself living comfortably in this house and in this neighborhood for a long while of your married life? Do you see everything to be relatively worry-free from financial and infrastructural problems? If you can, well, by all means, you may as well go all the way!
The “buying first home” jitters are a natural nag, and definitely something you should heed and not ignore. You must approach this major commitment with caution and with both eyes open. Being completely at peace with your decision to purchase is the first definite step to making your first home, a true dream home!