You’ve been renting for a while now, and you’re finally ready for a home that you can call your own. You want to be able to paint the walls and put up all of those appliances you’ve been saving in your online cart.
Becoming a homeowner will be a very satisfying experience, but you’ve got to be sure that you are both financially and mentally prepared for this next step in your life before you start picking out your furnishings.
Beyond the decorative freedom that you’ll have once you own your home, you’ll also inherit new responsibilities such as managing your mortgage, taxes, and even the maintenance of your house. Now is the time take a deeper look at your finances and ask yourself some serious questions so that you can be prepared for what’s next.
Considerations for Prospective Homeowners
Know how much you can afford.
There is no need to sacrifice a large portion of your income paying a mortgage if your salary doesn’t stretch as far as you’d like. Instead of turning homeownership into a burden, look at some modest options for now and make a goal to purchase your dream home in the next few years.
Know your debt-to-income ratio.
Lenders look at two main numbers when it comes to homeownership: your overall debt, and your housing debt. Examine your credit report and make sure that your overall debt is less than 40% of your income. If it’s higher, make a plan to pay down as many balances as you can to get you under that threshold. The next step will be to make sure that your new housing debt is less than 32% of your income. What you will be able to afford with this 32% will depend on the type of area that you are looking to purchase your home in.
Prepare for regular home maintenance.
Homeownership requires a lot more than just the initial furnishings and paint jobs. Your house will require regular repairs and maintenance over the years, so you will need to prepare your finances to cover these costs. Create a realistic game plan that will allow you to budget for maintenance expenses so that you are ready for all the aspects of homeownership.
“Building Relationships One Home at a Time”
With an experienced, local real estate consultant in your corner, you’ll finally be able to find the home that you’ve been searching for. Here at It’s Already Sold, we want to do more than just find you a great place to live – we want to change your home search experience by making it personal and completely geared toward your homeownership journey.
During the discovery and consultation, our team uses a proven process that will put us in the right direction of a successful search. We can help you define your goals, establish an ideal timeline, and even help determine an ideal lifestyle that you’d like to have so that we can easily find the home of your dreams.
As local market experts, we are well-trained to identify the best opportunities in the Metro-Atlanta market. We make it our priority to educate our clients about all of their real estate transactions, and we will negotiate effectively on your behalf once you’ve found your perfect home.
Let It’s Already Sold create the perfect home search strategy for you and guide you all the way through the closing of your new home.
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Use our simple search form below to find the best up to date matches for you! You can search by area, address, or listing ID.
Getting Started
We want you to stay ahead of the game and get familiar with the real estate industry before you begin your home search, so we created a free resource for you to use throughout your journey.
Download the free Jargon Simplifier, a personal dictionary of the most commonly used real estate terms that you’ll run into during your journey to homeownership. Use it to help you get back into the conversation and feel confident about your home-buying decisions.
Once you grab your instant download, fill out the contact form below, and we can set up an initial consultation to discuss your new home search strategy.
Down Payment Assistance
Do you know how much of a down payment you should put down on your next home?
It’s Already Sold makes it easy with our calculator below!
“Building relationships one home at a time”
We want to help you actually understand the different phases of real estate that you will be faced with instead of having you struggle with procedural formalities. If you’re looking for an experienced real estate agent who will put your individual needs first, then you’re in the right place.
Builders Corner
Looking to partner with local experts to sell your developments? Our team simplifies the residential sales process for you and fills your communities with ready to move in buyers.
Buyer’s Corner
Whether you’re looking to buy a new home or you’re investing in additional properties, we’ll create a personalized plan for you with viable real estate options that are within YOUR budget.
Seller’s Corner
Looking to sell your home? We’ll show you everything that you need to know to master your real estate transactions and get the price that you want for your property.
Real Estate Resources
An educated buyer is a confident buyer, and we’re sharing as many resources with you as we can so that you will be prepared for any obstacle.