Analyze Your Finances & Lifestyle BEFORE You Think About Buying a Home

Posted Jan 6, 2009 @ 10:06 am, Viewed by 570 Visitors, Read 571 Times.

Should you buy a condo or a single family house? Should you spend as much as you've been pre-approved for or less? The answers to these questions depend on your lifestyle, whether you're looking at homes for sale in Lexington, KY or Dallas, TX.

Single family homes are wonderful -- if you don't mind taking care of the yard and landscaping. Even if you buy a home that's been professionally landscaped already, you'll still need to put time and effort into maintaining it.

For some people -- especially busy professionals -- a condominium or townhome is a better fit for their lifestyle. With these types of homes, there's usually a monthy association fee that includes the cost of maintaining the outside of the home, including the lawn and any landscaping. If you're considering buying your first home and are used to the benefits or renting, you may find that a condo or townhome is the perfect "first step" for you into homeowner-land.

Your finances, obviously, will play an important role in choosing a home as well. Not only because you'll need to have a sufficient credit history/FICO score to qualify for a mortgage, but also because you need to look at how much you're honestly willing to invest in a home.

Are you used to eating out four or five times a week and hitting the town every weekend? If so, you probably have less disposable income than you would otherwise, so spending the maximum amount you've been pre-qualified for probably isn't a good idea unless you're willing to make substantial changes to your lifestyle. Mortgage brokers base their pre-qualification numbers primarily on how much existing debt you have versus your income, not on how much disposable income you like to spend each week.

So you need to honestly analyze your lifestyle and determine, what, if anything, you're willing to sacrifice to achieve the dream of owning your first home.

 

Sharon Roark
Lexington KY Real Estate

Sharon Roark is a Realtor in Lexington KY specializing in residential real estate in Lexington KY and the surrounding areas. A lifelong resident of Central Kentucky, Sharon knows the real estate market in this area well and uses her market exptertise to help her clients, especially those relocating to Lexington KY find the right home in a neighborhood that best fits their lifestyle. 

Sharon is also a trained, accredited home staging professional, a skill which has helped her sell many homes quickly and for top dollar throughout Lexington, Georgetown, Lawrenceburg, Nicholasville, Paris, Versailles and Winchester.

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Sharon Roark

Sharon Roark Sharon Roark takes you and your real estate needs seriously. She realizes that the purchase or sale of a home is one of the biggest financial transactions in most people's lives, and Sharon dedicates herself to helping ensure that the entire process goes as smoothly as possible. As a lifelong resident of the Lexington Area, Sharon has in-depth knowledge of the local market and uses this knowledge to help ensure you find the right home in the neighborhood that best suits your needs. Read More

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