5 signs that will help you determine if you are ready to buy your home

By Mariel Calderon

As a real estate agent in Tampa Florida, I love to see people achieve their goals of buying their first home or moving to a greater space. There are so many reasons I could give you on why you should buy a home in 2020, like low interest rates, why pay a rent for a property that is not yours, or just go with “everyone should buy a home”. Buying a home is probably the biggest investment anyone will make in their lives and it should be well planned. The economy or the current market situation shouldn’t determine whether you should or shouldn’t buy a property, and I say this from my personal experience. 

Are you ready to buy a home in Tampa? 

These 5 signs will help you determine if you are ready to buy your dream home

1. You have a stable income. If you have been working at the same place with a stable income for the past two years, you might be ready to buy a home.
2. No debt and an emergency fund. This I learned the hard way. We know where we are now, we don’t know where we will be tomorrow. Being out of debt and having an emergency fund of 3 – 6 months will help you protect what will most probably be your largest asset. If you lose your job for any reason, having an emergency fund will enable you to keep paying your mortgage instead of going into crisis mode and ending up in foreclosure or a short sale. I recommend Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover. It’s a life changer!
3. You know what you can afford. When you get that itch of buying a house, download my app and under tools click on Affordability Calculator. Make sure that you shop for properties that are worth less than what you can afford. You want to make sure that you can pay the mortgage and still have a life. 
4. Have a New Home Budget. 20% deposit, 3 – 5% for closing costs, moving expenses and extra for furniture. Even if you have furniture, there will be things you will want to get for that new place. If you have the money, then you might be ready to buy a home! You can have it all without getting into debt if you plan beforehand. I’m a spreadsheet geek, so every time I’m planning for a big event I create one. In this case I would create a New Home Budget. In the first column I would write down every single expense I could think of, for example: downpayment and closing costs, furniture by rooms, moving expense, paint, any construction expense, etc. Then on the first row I would write down each month I have before moving. Each month you are going to start allocating money to each of the rows until you reach your goal. Download the spreadsheet sample here. The numbers used are just examples. Go ahead and change them.
5. You are all on the same page! If you live alone, then you don’t need to count on anyone to make a big decision but, if you are married or are buying a home with someone else, make sure that you both have a nice talk about your future plans. Maybe you see yourself living in an apartment with a low maintenance lifestyle and your partner wants a backyard with a vegetable garden. To start searching, download my app: https://www.kw.com/download/KW1KYVPXN?_branch_match_id=495789382146823199&utm_medium=marketing

I love helping others go through the planning process that will lead them to a successful purchase of a home. Email me at mariel@yestampa.com.