Buying the home of your dreams is often widely considered as part of the American Dream. Therefore, you want it to be a very positive experience and we want to be sure we do it right.
Read these top 10 tips for buying the home of your dreams:
Be sure that you are ready to settle down in the location in which your dream home is located. As a rule of thumb, we should not purchase a home unless we are planning to stay in it for at least two years.
Think about it, it will take at least 2 years to make back the money that was spent on closing costs and the tax benefits of selling a home don’t kick in unless you have lived in the home for at least 2 of the 5 years prior to the sale. Therefore, it is very important that you are planning to stay in your home for at least 2 years.
Make a list of your wants and needs. Since this is the home of your dreams, you want to make sure you know exactly what you’re looking for. You should include “must haves” and things that would be ideal, but aren’t necessarily a need. This list will help give a clearer idea of what you’re looking for.
Determine your maximum budget. You need to know exactly how much you can spend before you even start looking at homes. Otherwise, you are going to set yourself up for a huge disappointment. You don’t want to fall in love with a home and then figure out that it’s way out of your price range.
Get pre-approved from your bank if possible so that you will know exactly what your max price is when you start thinking buying the home of your dreams.
Look at multiple houses. Don’t fall in love with the first house you see. After all, you do want your dream home to fit you perfectly right? So, looking at multiple properties will help you find the one that is truly perfect for you.
Try not to focus too much on the aesthetics. Minor details such as bad paint color, bad carpeting, etc. should not deter you from buying a house. These are all things that can be changed and you should think of this as a win because you may get a great bargain on a home that just needs minor updating!
Look at the whole picture because the house isn’t the only thing that matters. Location is a huge determinative of the property values of the home. Being within a good school district and safe neighborhood can be the key to your home holding its value.
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