Owning your home is a great accomplishment and experience. Though the process can be a little overwhelming choosing your forever home. As a homeowner myself I wish I had some tips during my experience that would have made my decision a little easier. We live and we learn but I am so happy with the home I choose.
Try to keep some of these tips in mind. Try not to overspend or over look a home that is not 100% personalized to your liking. You can always do some DIY projects with your spouse or family member(s) to really get what you want from your new home. If you are not a DIY person you can always hire someone to do it for you. So, if there is a home you really fell in love with but doesn’t have all what you are looking keep in mind you can always negotiate the price on the home and use that loan money for improvements.
If you are someone like me who likes to make lists about my pro’s and con’s with each home you take inconsideration. I highly recommend doing so or some kind of notes on the homes you are looking at. I myself already have lots on my mind I know I will eventually forget why or what I liked about the house I just saw. On this list make sure to add the address and if you can add a photo of the home to your notes. While you are writing in your notes add in if there is any maintenance that will be needed. You can try to add in those costs with your contract or have the previous homeowner do the repairs or once again negotiate the price on the home. If you decide to higher someone to do all the repairs because not all of us are not qualified to handle tools at are beyond the hammer, screwdriver, and plyers. When you hire this contractor to help make your home a little spiffier; make sure you hire a qualified contract and check out their reviews online. You don’t want to spend all that money and you are not satisfied with the work or how long it took to improve your home. MOST of all make sure you have your contractor sign a contract and both parties gets a copy of it. Don’t sign anything if you are not comfortable with or agree with some of agreements. It is very important to read the contract if the contractor is presenting you one before you come up with one.
As you are going through the process of buying your home make sure you properly get your home insured for repairs, improvements, and the unthinkable. for instance a fire, natural disaster or a freak accident. Now, that you have lived in your home for a few years you know the area a little better and what kind of weather occurs in that area. Update your insurance on your home just in case you might have missed or need to increase coverage on your home. For example flooding is covered but only when it is caused by plumbing not an unequipped drain that cannot withstand the amount of rain which ends up flooding your home. It will increase your premium but you are covered if it rains to quickly and floods your area.
Now to get some money back for being a homeowner and a responsible adult by keeping up with your home. As a homeowner you can now get Tax benefits for being a homeowner. For any improvements you make on your home make sure you keep your receipts to get those benefits. If you don’t make any improvements that year that’s okay because you still receive benefits for just owning your home. Though depending on where you live it might not be as beneficial and the direction of the housing market. So, many variables to take in consideration but in the end it’s worth it the time and effort. As a long time renter before I owned my own home I know longer have to worry about hiding one of my pets so I’m not paying a fortune on pet deposits or an extra fee added to my rent. There is freedom of owning your home; you can do whatever you want to your own home and not worry about asking your landlord or property manager. Another relief is not having to move out in a year because the house your in is now up for sale or the landlord doesn’t want to resign you for another year. The amount of stress on trying to find a new place in 30 days and money that is needed initially to move. Along with the amount of money you will need for movers, rent deposit, rent, pet deposit, application fee, and the time you need to take off to move to your new location. Not everyone wants to own their own home and that’s totally fine. As long as you’re happy and have a roof over your head is the most important.
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