There is no bigger investment in life than finally settling down and purchasing a home. Not only are you committing yourself financially for decades, but you are also declaring this is the place that you want to live from here on out.
Along with this committal comes a sense of fear. It is quite common to have a concern when buying a house. But if you are aware of what to look for and how to fix certain situations, you can enter into this agreement more self-assured.
Do You Qualify for the Home Loan?
It is a very good idea to see exactly how much of a loan you will qualify for before you start shopping for a house. If you don’t, you are going to run into some problems. For instance, if you try to make an offer for $150,000 on a home when you only qualify for $120,000 then there are going to be a lot of hard feelings down the road. Don’t waste your time or the seller’s time. You should find out your maximum loan amount first.
Is Home Insurance Expensive?
You will need home insurance when you are buying a house, so be sure to consider the extra expense every month. It could be as little as $50 a month, but you should try your best to find out first before you start paying the premium. It will be another hit to your budget to be aware of.
Property Taxes
Depending upon what region you live, property taxes could be as expensive as your mortgage payment every month. It is a somewhat hidden cost that people don’t consider when purchasing a home. Do yourself a favour and look closely at the property taxes before making a commitment. If the taxes are high, you might be able to negotiate the price of the house a bit better. Plus, if you purchase the house at a lower price, you can try to renegotiate your property taxes down the road to a lesser amount.
What If You Buy a Lemon?
We all worry about buying a house and then realizing there are a million problems with it that were not disclosed. If this happens, you might have a legal case on your hands where you can get back some of the money to fix these problems. In fact, you may learn more about a latent defect and seeing if the seller of the home can be held responsible by contacting the right lawyer.
