As the pandemic housing market booms, many home buyers are entering the market for the first time, and are facing very expensive options.
Making an investment in a home is a critical decision, and not one to be made without knowing all the facts, from your own budget to the condition of the house to the type of neighborhood you’d live in.
Here are some important questions to consider before making your first – or even second or third — purchase of a home.
Determining your budget for a home is the first step in deciding which homes you can reasonably go after. But just as important in your budget for the down payment, mortgage, and property taxes are hidden costs like necessary renovations, closing fees, replacing a roof, or local school bonds. Read more about some of these costs to look out for at HuffPost.
Are you looking for a neighborhood to raise a family? Then you may want to consider the quality of the local public school system, which you can look up via GreatSchools. You’ll also want to investigate the prevalence of crime in the neighborhood, which you can look up through online resources like CityProtect. Alternatively, you might be looking for a home where you can walk to get your groceries, visit a local restaurant, or ride public transportation to get to work.
Will the home come with all the appliances you saw? Will light fixtures be removed? Will they be replaced? These are all important questions to consider as they will hike the price of your move-in. Investopedia reports it’s important to get these things in writing, as different legal gray areas can arise.
If you’re a first-time home-buyer, you might qualify for assistance programs that could help reduce some of the costs of purchasing a home, such as down payments or low-interest mortgages. NerdWallet has a great resource to see what options are available to first-time Washingtonian homebuyers in 2021.
Questions about home insurance? Contact a Sea Mountain Homeowners Insurance Specialist today!
