18 Mar

Another Pressure… Buying a Home

I knew it would be challenging to purchase a home; I just didn’t know how soon I’d have to make a decision.

One of my goals to complete this year is to purchase my first home. My plan was to collect 20% down for a home by December and begin searching. It would be tough, but doable, and would give me more time to feel comfortable with such a large purchase. However, the increase in home prices over the past year has forced me to rethink my strategy. Now I’m looking at 13-15% down on a home and beginning the search in May or June!

I’m a bit nervous that this doesn’t give me a lot of time to focus on buying a home. I’ve been doing my research (albeit inconsistently), and I have a location, home size, and price in mind, but there are just so many factors to consider that I fear I may get overwhelmed! Before, home ownership was half a year away or more. Now, it is all within my grasp!

It’s such an exciting and nervewracking mix of emotions… I don’t know how to feel. On one hand, my wife and I will finally have a place that we own, and we can begin focus on starting a family. On the other hand, we’ll have to worry about HOA fees, taxes, location, yardwork, repairs, and everything else that comes with owning a home. It can be daunting to consider all of those things and still keep our sanity!

One thing I realize, however, is that I should never let the fear of the unknown or being outside of my comfort zone keep me from completing my goals. I know there will be issues we will run into, and problems that will arise, but I will just need to work hard to be as best prepared for that as possible. One thing I plan on doing is setting aside money for a housing fund separately from my nest egg. I want to be sure I have enough to cover a blown A/C unit or furnace, the unexpected bursting pipe, or anything else that can happen within a home as soon as I buy it. Additionally, something that I’ve already done is creating a detailed budget to ensure that I will be able to survive a home purchase and all my other miscellaneous bills with my wallet intact. Taking just these two proactive steps will save you from many housing headaches later on.

Home ownership is only a few months away!

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Andrew McDonald

  • You should start looking now, at least online. In our situation, we had three months to find a house. In one month we looked at about 120 houses and only found three that fit with what we want, and one of those started a bidding war. We were lucky to close on our house in two months and almost lost the contract because of one minor detail left out. Never hurts to start early, that way you know what is out there.

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