Your best option may be right in front of you.
In a fast-changing economy and a 24-hour news cycle, it’s hard to separate noise from information, and that can lead to analysis paralysis.
That said, if you’ve been thinking about buying a house, don’t feel like you have to wait for perfect conditions.
Here are three reasons why you shouldn’t delay exploring the home market:
Financing is key, and you have more options than you think. You may have been conditioned to believe that a 20% down payment and a 30-year fixed mortgage are the only way to buy a home, but that doesn’t even scratch the surface of your financing options. Mortgages, like houses themselves, come with so many variations that there is no “best” option … only what’s “best for you.” Factors like how long you expect to stay in your home and what loan products you qualify for come into play when choosing a mortgage, so your best bet is to talk to a home financing professional who can work through all your options.
There is a time cost to waiting. The costs we normally think of when we talk about homebuying are housing prices and mortgage rates. Sometimes it makes sense to wait for those numbers to come down, but there are two problems with that. First, those numbers may not come down … they may go up. Second, if you rent housing, you’ll spend those years on the sidelines paying out an unrecoverable cost instead of building equity.
It takes time to find your dream home. Housing inventory continues to remain below the levels needed to meet demand, and new homes can’t be built fast enough to bridge the gap. If you’re looking for a home in a high-demand area, housing supply may fall further short of demand. This means it may take longer than you expect to find the right home, so it’s a smart idea to start your home search now and get pre-qualified for financing sooner rather than later.
Not Sure You’re Ready?
Maybe you’re still saving for a down payment, or you’re not sure if you’ll be able to qualify for a mortgage ... but let’s talk anyway. There is an array of loan options that don’t require a hefty down payment, and you may qualify for a loan program that you don’t even know about. I can help you look at your finances, understand your options, and see if we can get you into a home sooner than you think.