Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home Read Online Free Page B
Author: Ilona Bray, Alayna Schroeder, Marcia Stewart
Tags: Business & Economics, Law, Real Estate, House buying, Property
that admittedly is possible, it’s also possible that in the meantime, the increased value of your place will help, not hinder, your happily-ever-after. If the value of your home increases and you pay down the mortgage, the two of you will have equity you can use to buy a place together. Besides—a house that’s perfect for one may accommodate two just fine.
Combine our homes. Hannah says, “I was a young professional and very single when I bought a condo. Two years later, I met Chad, who also owned a small home. Before I knew it, we were married and living in the house, renting out the condo. Then we had kids, and the house was just too small. We sold my place and Chad’s, using the equity to buy a house big enough to accommodate our kids. It’s nice to have a place that we chose together, with our family in mind.”
“But … It’s Too Much Responsibility!”
For some, the idea of owning a home just seems like too much to handle. Admittedly, renting is much simpler than owning. You write a rent check, and you’re covered for the month. And in many rental arrangements, you can leave with just a month’s notice—perfect for those with wanderlust.
Telling yourself that renting doesn’t involve responsibility isn’t really true, though. After all, what happens if you don’t pay the rent? You get evicted—and then where do you go? Back to Mom and Dad’s? Most people would rather do whatever it takes to make that monthly payment happen.
So if you’ve already lived away from home, you’re familiar with what’s needed to make monthly payments and handle monthly finances. Of course, when you buy you’ll have other responsibilities, like taking care of your yard or doing repairs, but you’re in charge of prioritizing what happens when. If you decide you don’t want to repair the creaky stairwell until you’ve redone your kitchen cabinets, that’s up to you.
“But … I’m Still Scared!”
Buying a home may seem overwhelming, even if you’ve always wanted to do it. The process is unfamiliar, there’s a lot of money at stake, and you may fear getting swept up into buying a place you don’t even like or that will drop in value. But fear shouldn’t stop you from realizing your homebuying dreams. To help calm the butterflies, take constructive steps such as these:
• Know your strengths and weaknesses going in. Then find ways to address them, for example with self-education or by hiring professionals.
• Learn what you can expect from professionals. Understand what real estate agents, mortgage brokers, home inspectors, and other professionals do, and put them to work for you, saving time and money.
• Observe your local real estate market. We’ll show you how to research the trends in your area, in order to reassure yourself that you’re not buying an asset that will immediately drop in value, and has long-term appreciation potential.
• Understand the process. Read up on all steps of the homebuying process now, so that you won’t be confused—or need to do any late-night remedial study—when the process kicks into high gear.
• Get organized. Use all the worksheets and checklists in the Homebuyer’s Toolkit on this book’s CD-ROM to stay on top of all your key tasks, such as choosing a real estate agent or inspector or pulling together financial papers for the lender.
This book will help you accomplish all those goals. It will tell you where you are at every step, so that you can breathe, get your bearings, and proceed with confidence. Get the facts, and you’ll be ready.
What’s Next?
Once you’ve decided you’re ready to buy, it’s time to figure out what’s important to you. In the next chapter, we’ll discuss how to examine and settle on your priorities regarding types of houses and neighborhoods.
CHAPTER 2
What Do You Want? Figuring Out Your Homebuying Needs
Meet Your Adviser
Paul Grucza, a community association expert
Combine our homes. Hannah says, “I was a young professional and very single when I bought a condo. Two years later, I met Chad, who also owned a small home. Before I knew it, we were married and living in the house, renting out the condo. Then we had kids, and the house was just too small. We sold my place and Chad’s, using the equity to buy a house big enough to accommodate our kids. It’s nice to have a place that we chose together, with our family in mind.”
“But … It’s Too Much Responsibility!”
For some, the idea of owning a home just seems like too much to handle. Admittedly, renting is much simpler than owning. You write a rent check, and you’re covered for the month. And in many rental arrangements, you can leave with just a month’s notice—perfect for those with wanderlust.
Telling yourself that renting doesn’t involve responsibility isn’t really true, though. After all, what happens if you don’t pay the rent? You get evicted—and then where do you go? Back to Mom and Dad’s? Most people would rather do whatever it takes to make that monthly payment happen.
So if you’ve already lived away from home, you’re familiar with what’s needed to make monthly payments and handle monthly finances. Of course, when you buy you’ll have other responsibilities, like taking care of your yard or doing repairs, but you’re in charge of prioritizing what happens when. If you decide you don’t want to repair the creaky stairwell until you’ve redone your kitchen cabinets, that’s up to you.
“But … I’m Still Scared!”
Buying a home may seem overwhelming, even if you’ve always wanted to do it. The process is unfamiliar, there’s a lot of money at stake, and you may fear getting swept up into buying a place you don’t even like or that will drop in value. But fear shouldn’t stop you from realizing your homebuying dreams. To help calm the butterflies, take constructive steps such as these:
• Know your strengths and weaknesses going in. Then find ways to address them, for example with self-education or by hiring professionals.
• Learn what you can expect from professionals. Understand what real estate agents, mortgage brokers, home inspectors, and other professionals do, and put them to work for you, saving time and money.
• Observe your local real estate market. We’ll show you how to research the trends in your area, in order to reassure yourself that you’re not buying an asset that will immediately drop in value, and has long-term appreciation potential.
• Understand the process. Read up on all steps of the homebuying process now, so that you won’t be confused—or need to do any late-night remedial study—when the process kicks into high gear.
• Get organized. Use all the worksheets and checklists in the Homebuyer’s Toolkit on this book’s CD-ROM to stay on top of all your key tasks, such as choosing a real estate agent or inspector or pulling together financial papers for the lender.
This book will help you accomplish all those goals. It will tell you where you are at every step, so that you can breathe, get your bearings, and proceed with confidence. Get the facts, and you’ll be ready.
What’s Next?
Once you’ve decided you’re ready to buy, it’s time to figure out what’s important to you. In the next chapter, we’ll discuss how to examine and settle on your priorities regarding types of houses and neighborhoods.
CHAPTER 2
What Do You Want? Figuring Out Your Homebuying Needs
Meet Your Adviser
Paul Grucza, a community association expert
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