Are You Financially Ready For Home Ownership?

Posted on May 1 2015 - 8:03am by Editorial Staff

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Who does not want to live in a house that is owned by them, where you do not have to ask your landlord if it’s okay to nail a portrait of your grandparents on a particular wall? Okay, the portrait might be taking it too far, but what an independent house really gives you is the freedom to deck up, deck down or even dirty and clean the house as per your heart’s desire.

You could not bother about the bushes growing for weeks and make a Bart Simpson topiary out of it, when you have the time. This is the kind of freedom that you can get out of owning your own house. However, owning a house is not just about decorating it your way and putting out nasty plants that keep people away. Taking a mortgage is now a norm and a mortgage broker will help. But are you ready for this? Let’s find out.

An emotional decision

Buying a house for yourself is not the same as buying a pair of sneakers for a jog you plan to take in the mornings or an impulse decision of buying a three tier wedding cake for your anniversary. The decision is a more mature one and one that is also emotional to a very large extent.

Both, you and your partner, are likely to have grown with some idea of how your home should be and therefore, it is extremely important that you discuss the kind of house you would like to buy, before it turns into a home. For some a home is in a nice cul-de-sac of a residential area while for some, home means far away from the city, near a farm with animals left free. Balancing such diverse yet important choices need a lot of talking and understanding from both sides.

And a financial one too

Once you have started the process of identifying your home-to-be, you will also come across the likely budget of your dream house. You will also understand that a house with a similar area and amenities costs differently in different areas and buying a house in an up market area is an expensive affair. You will also become aware of the down payment you will be required to make at the beginning and the likely amount of mortgage you will have to arrange.

While a good mortgage broker will be able to help you the intricacies of arranging a mortgage with a bank, there is more the mortgage broker cannot help you with. Basically, your own financial standing when you decide to buy the house is because of your lifestyle so far and it may need some drastic changes to get in line.

Get yourself a latest credit report and check your credit standing. If you have taken loans earlier, try to clear them off, before you apply for a mortgage. You will also have to start saving for the initial down payment that you will be required to make. These are some harsh decisions and changes you will be required to make now, but I am sure, you would not mind them, since you will soon be a proud owner of your own home.

According to some estimates, your approximate spending on your house, even after you buy it, in terms of house tax, bills, mortgage payments, etc. should be in the range of 35 – 45 % and not more. This is will ensure that your standard of living is still maintained and that you can pay your mortgage amounts comfortably. We recommend that you follow this guideline and make necessary arrangements before speaking to your mortgage broker so that your mortgage processing is also a smooth event.

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Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.