At some point most renters will take a look around their boxed in apartment and ponder should they be buying a home instead of giving the money away. You pay more in rent and never realize the tax advantages and basically, you’re handing over all the benefits to your landlord.
Stop giving your hard earned money away!
Many renters give up the dream of owning their own home simply because of the financial strategy needed to begin the process. Looking at the route, it seems to be more of a hassle than a welcomed reality. Down payments, perfect credit history, funds to bring to settlement; you start to feel fenced in like owning a home is just not in the cards for you.
That’s because you’ve only heard half the story; of course you can own a home without too much of the hassles.
The hardest part of buying a home these days is having a good enough credit history. I mean with the down slump of this economy, whose credit didn’t become just a bit blemished? Banks have tightened up on their criteria for home loans and are scrutinizing past payment histories a lot more. But credit can always be fixed. It just takes time and you can accomplish a lot in a year?
The Biggest Hurdles to Overcome when Buying a Home:
1. Accumulating a down payment & Settlement Fees
2. Re-establishing Great Credit
These two things are all that is really keeping renters from buying a home. So how do you overcome the issue of having blemished credit and saving enough money when most of it goes to your landlord?
Consider these 3 Little Known Facts That Can Help You Buy Your First Home.
1. Did you know when buying a new home there are government programs to help with down payment assistance? Most are state and city funded programs to help new home buyers. You could get as much as 3% to 5% down payment assistance AND there are other programs that help with both the down payment and settlement fees. These programs have very little budgets so they don’t advertise statewide, however a good realtor will know about the programs.
2. If you have any assets such as stocks, bonds, a car, or anything else of value you can use it as collateral to secure a loan. Get an appraisal and ask your realtor which lenders are more likely to help you finance using this type of asset.
3. You could look for “Lease to Own” properties; Sellers know the market isn’t as steady as we would like and banks have become so strict it’s difficult for people with perfect credit to secure home loans, so sellers will lease their property to you for a specified amount of time with the intent of you buying it down the road. In laymen’s terms, you rent it for perhaps two years with maybe 10% or more of each monthly payment going towards the purchase price (this acts as your down payment). After that two year period you agree to purchase the property. This gives you time to accumulate a down payment and fix any credit problems you may have.
Every renter should speak with a realtor because an informative conversation will cost you nothing but will enlighten you to all the programs available. Isn’t it time to explore your options and learn how your money can benefit you more?
