Five things to know before buying a home

FIVE things you need to know before buying a home in Michigan

Are you ready to buy your first home, but feeling SO overwhelmed you don’t know where to begin?

In this article,I’m going to discuss the 5 important things you need to know before buying a home in Michigan to make the process a breeze so you can score the PERFECT HOUSE

First and foremost- Know What You Can Afford and how much money you can use as your down payment.

Ever hear the phrase “I’m house broke?” Well, we don’t want that to be you. It’s important to get pre-approved with a local lender before you go out shopping so you know what you can afford. You’re going to want a monthly mortgage payment that's manageable for you every month. Ideally less than 36% of your gross monthly income (DTI). You’re also going to want to know how much you can afford to put as a down payment - You don’t want to tie up your money -  incase of rainy days orif you wish to make home improvements.

Establish your wants from your needs- Create a list of non-negotiables for what you need in a house and stick to it. Too many times when first time home buyers are out home shopping, they let emotions get in the way that lead to poor decisions. When you have a list of non-negotiables, you have something you can refer back to so you’re making the best decision possible when making offers to ensure you’re actually getting your perfect house.

Don’t worry about the Cosmetics - it could cost you big-time! Too frequently, buyers overlook homes based on the appearance of things. Like walking into the house and hating the color of the red walls, or having an outdated kitchen backsplash, or even having less than desirable floors. These are all things that can be changed pretty easily and don’t take a lot of a ton of time to do! Something like repainting the bedrooms and bathrooms could cost you less than 1,000 to do and you could knock it out in a weekend. 

Be picky with the location & floorplan - The location of the house can’t be changed - so you better love that neighborhood! If you need peace & quiet - you probably don’t want to live on a main road or behind a busy freeway no matter how “cute” the house is. Your floor plan is also just as important - As a first-time buyer, changing anything structurally to the house like removing walls is going to be very expensive and not in your best interest . So unless tiny bedroom sizes are on your list of non-negotiables  as “must haves”, it’s best to pass on that tiny bedroom house.  

Taxes- Lastly, as a first-time home buyer you need to know about the property taxes you’ll be paying. You shouldn’t buy a house or make an offer on a house without at least having an idea of what the yearly taxes will be. Keep in mind, taxes are reassessed every year and could increase. It’s important to know how much your taxes will be because this will affect what cities you can afford a house in.

If you want to know exactly how much it’s going to cost you to buy your first home in the great state of Michigan, I’m going to discuss all the costs associated with buying your first house such as down payment, closing costs, inspection & appraisal fees,  in my next article so you can be best prepared! 

If you are ready to get the home buying process started, you can book a home buyer consultation with me just by sending me an email and I’ll be happy to connect with you and get started!