{"id":1252,"date":"2017-04-12T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T16:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=1252"},"modified":"2019-06-25T13:33:28","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T21:33:28","slug":"5-signs-that-its-time-to-think-about-buying-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/5-signs-that-its-time-to-think-about-buying-a-home\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Signs That It’s Time To Think About Buying A Home"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019ve been renting for a few months or a few years, you may reach the point where you wonder about buying a place. You\u2019ll have a place to call your very own, and instead of paying rent every month, you\u2019ll be making a payment on a place you own.<\/p>\n

Buying a home is a huge decision, and for most people, it\u2019s the biggest purchase of their lives. Here are a few signs that you\u2019re ready to go from renting to buying.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You\u2019re Financially Stable<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first thing you should do is evaluate your current financial situation. You should already have an emergency fund that will cover your expenses for three to six months, steady income, and minimal debt. Student loan debt is fine, but if you have credit card debt, paying that off should be your first priority.<\/p>\n

You will need to have money saved for a down payment on the home. Aim to save at least 5 percent of the purchase price for your future home, although 10 to 20 percent is even better. With a larger down payment, you\u2019ll be able to get a better deal on your loan.<\/p>\n

You can also keep your annual percentage rate (APR) to a minimum with a high credit score. Check your score with the three major credit bureaus. Aim for at least a 700, although 800 is even better.<\/p>\n

Estimate how much your loan payment would be and substitute that amount for your current rent payment in your monthly budget. If you find that you\u2019re making more than enough to cover a home payment, then you\u2019re in a good position to buy.<\/p>\n

You Want More Control<\/strong><\/p>\n

When you rent, you\u2019re limited as far as what you can change in your home. Your lease will outline what you can and can\u2019t do, but even if you\u2019re able to improve something, do you want to spend money upgrading a place that you don\u2019t own?<\/p>\n

If you find yourself wanting to make changes to your home, then it may be time to consider buying. You\u2019ll be able to change the floors, paint the walls, remodel, and do whatever else you want. Just keep in mind that you\u2019ll also need to handle the less glamorous aspects of home maintenance, including repairs. The good news with handling repairs on your own is that even though you\u2019ll be paying for them out of pocket, you aren\u2019t at the mercy of a landlord who may not consider those repairs as much of a priority as you do.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a Better Deal<\/strong><\/p>\n

You also need to consider the market where you live. The cost of renting and buying a home fluctuates, so there are times when it\u2019s better financially to buy. Of course, the best time to buy a home is when home prices are low and rental prices are high, but this is an ideal scenario for a homebuyer.<\/p>\n

To determine if renting or buying is a better deal, figure out how long you plan to stay in your next home, and then compare the cost of buying to the cost of renting for that time period, along with how much equity you\u2019d build in the home.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the Right Move for Your Family<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have kids or are planning to have them in the near future, then you may want to buy a home so that they have a stable environment where they can grow up. You won\u2019t need to worry about moving and your children switching schools.<\/p>\n

By purchasing a home, you will also have property that you can pass down to your children.<\/p>\n

You Love the Area<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you frequently find yourself suffering from wanderlust and your dream is to travel as much as you can, it\u2019s best to hold off on buying a home. You also don\u2019t want to buy a home if you aren\u2019t completely sure that the neighborhood is somewhere that you would love to live for at least the next 10 years.<\/p>\n

Buying your first home is exciting, and it\u2019s a big transition when you\u2019ve been renting for your entire adult life. Assess your current situation and how much you like your neighborhood so you can be sure that buying is right for you.<\/p>\n

Photo:\u00a0Dan Moyle<\/a>\u00a0\/ CC 2.0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019ve been renting for a few months or a few years, you may reach the point where you wonder about buying a place. You\u2019ll have a place to call your very own, and instead of paying rent every month, you\u2019ll be making a payment on a place you own. Buying a home is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1252"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1625,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1252\/revisions\/1625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}