You CAN Afford To Buy A Home

Yes, you can afford to buy a home! It will just take a bit of patience and discipline on your part.

I speak to many people who convince themselves that they will never be able to purchase a home. They settle and decide that paying rent for the rest of their lives will just have to do. The truth is, most people can afford to buy a home.

I am not saying it is cheap or even easy for all, but I can say with confidence that it is possible.

You can afford to buy a home if you...

1. Do your research (or contacta local realtor and have them get you on the right path)

With mortgage interest rates so low, monthly payments to own a home are actually right around 40% less than rental payments. There are also very low down payment programs such as Federal Housing Association Loans (FHA Loans) that offer 3.5% down. Private Banks like Wells Fargo are now rolling out similar loan programs as well. I recommend reaching out to a great loan officer for advice on getting pre-approved for a loan that best fits your needs.

2. Save your money!

When I say save, I mean SAVE. It's hard, I know but most of the time the only thing sitting between most people and a new home is a nest egg of money sitting in the bank. You will need money for your down payment and other costs associated with buying home. It may take longer for you than you'd like but the important part is to save consistently. I would suggest opening up a completely separate bank account and name it "My House Fund". Put any and all extra cash away towards your new home. Even if you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is important to take action.

3. Budget like a maniac.

A lot of the time, you have the money. The problem is you don't know where it goes. A budget will help with this in a huge way. Sit down and take a few hours ( or days, if you need to) to set a very detailed budget. Give every dollar you earn a place to go. Bills, Gifts, Savings, Food, Tithe, Charity and so on. Once you have your budget going you will see how much money you actually have and you will be able to give it better uses other than Wendy's or Starbucks. It is very easy to spend more money when you're not paying close attention to it. On average, people "uncover" or "rediscover" an extra 15%-22% when working with a detailed budget. (More on budgeting in a another post).

4. Minimize expenses/ Kill your debt.

Here's the kicker, you'll probably have to cut back on a few things for a while. Believe it or not, the hardest sacrifices to make are the ones that affect our lifestyle . You'll constantly have to remind yourself that cutting back is only temporary you will make it through. You might have to sit out on those birthday dinners to fancy restaurants and you might have to hold off and buying that brand new shiny Lexus however, the reward of home ownership trumps all of that. You should also work very hard to kill all debt you currently have. Those monthly payments are chunks of money that should be going towards your "house fund" and one you one the home you will use that to make your mortgage payments. Like I said, this is will take longer for some people but that doesn't mean it's impossible.

This is just the beginning, there is and will be many ways to get on track to purchasing a home. You'll have to accept the challenge and then seek ways to get it done. I've seen crazier things happen! You CAN afford to buy a home.

For more info on mortgage and getting pre-approved you can reach out to Luis Hernandez of City 1st Mortgage here in Miami, FL.

Yasmine Bisumber |Licensed Real Estate Professional| (954) 744-0013

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