Awesome Tips To Help You Save For A Down Payment On Your New Home!

Over the past 10 years or so the amount of money needed for a down payment on a house has fluctuated from 20% to 0%, back to 20% and everywhere in between and now people are looking to put down even more money when they buy a Advice on saving for a house down paymenthome.  The economic downturn has made people realize that being debt free relieves a lot of stress and takes a huge weight off your shoulders allowing you to live more comfortably.  Paying for a house with cash seems impossible but more and more people are waiting longer and saving more to put down as much as they can 30, 40, and even 50% or more to avoid the major issues that many homeowners experienced just a few short years ago.

Saving up for a house seems overwhelming to most but if you break it up into bite size pieces or baby steps it really is doable and when you see that first 10% in your account it will put a lot of wind in your sails to continue the course of saving.

The first thing you should do would be to get out of as much of your debt as possible. This includes credit cards, car payments, student loans, and anything else that forces you to shell out hundreds of dollars of your hard earned income each month.  It may seem stupid but take that $300 dollars a month for a car, add $175 for the student loans and another $250 for credit cards this grand total $725 dollars a month.  If you are the average American and you bought a car that was $30,000 and pay upwards of $400 a month in car payments you should consider moving down into a car you could pay cash for to free the money up or at least trade in for a less expensive car that includes less expensive monthly payments!

There are a number of other things besides reducing your debt that can free up extra cash to help you save for a home. Things like your morning Starbucks, Friday night pizza, Saturday night drinks, and going out to eat or even that $130 cable bill.  All of these items add up very quickly but keep in mind you are setting a goal to PURCHASE A HOME, this should keep you motivated and skimping on these things now will pay off in the long run. But don’t worry, you aren’t giving up these things forever. Once you buy your home you can add these little luxuries back into your budget.  From the famous talk radio host Dave Ramsey would say “If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else”.

Another good kick starter to your down payment fund is a garage sale or Ebay sale.  If you look around your house there are probably things you haven’t touched in years like those mountain bikes in the garage, electronics sitting in your entertainment center or maybe even something larger like a motorcycle or jet ski.  My advice would be to go through all of your stuff you can part ways with and put a price on them.  You will be surprised at how much money you can make with a little effort and a Saturday sale. You could potentially bring in $1000 or $1500 or more to go towards your home fund.  Keep in mind once you are in your new home and you put a large down payment your mortgage payments will be much lower and making it easier to afford some of the items you sold down the road! We went over the easy stuff…now it is the time to roll up your sleeves and get serious about saving.

At this point you have gotten rid of the debt, sold almost everything except for the neighborhood cat and you have a surplus of money being saved but you want more.   This is the prime time to get a second job!  Sure you can’t possibly find another 40 hours a week but what about another 20 hours only a few nights a week bartending or serving tables?  It sounds crazy but another potential few hundred dollars a week could really expedite the saving process and even cut that 3 year savings plan way down.  Just keep in mind none of this is permanent; you are making sacrifices for a short period of time to achieve a huge goal.  In the end it will be all worth it.

To put things into perspective it is most useful to place these items on paper, make a monthly budget with your savings on the top. You can even create a chart that you color  in as you hit your milestones…Make it fun! You can hang this chart onto your refrigerator or somewhere you can look at it every day and celebrate when you reach different goals.  Without digging too deep you will find hundreds of dollars a month on things that can be eliminated and directed towards your house fund.

If you have any additional saving tips that we missed add them in the comments section of this post!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

4 Common Mistakes Home Buyers Make and How to Avoid Them

Buying a home can be a very overwhelming experience and often times people get so caught up in the home buying process that they lose sight of what is most important to them. It’s like they say “sometimes it is difficult to see the forest Home Buying helpthrough the trees.  When you are shopping for your new home we don’t want you to have to go through any extra hassle than is already involved with buying a home. That is why we put together this list of 4 common mistakes home buyers make and how to avoid them!

Mistake # 1: Purchasing Emotionally

Trying to purchase (potentially) one of the largest items of your life takes a lot of careful planning, this begins with the highest priority. Everyone’s priorities are different and for some people this maybe a better location, closer to work or better schools, for others it maybe upsizing due to family growth or even downsizing because the nest is (finally) empty.  No matter what the reason, it’s important to keep this priority on the forefront of the entire process.  Many times during the exciting search couples or individuals get hung up on the house they feel is “perfect” due to the quaint shutters, large wrap around porch, big colonial style columns or any other reason you fall in love with a house.  This is how people end up purchasing emotionally and stop using their heads.  Granted you need to find a place you like but keep in mind the reason you began your search, if you get too caught up in the emotional roller coaster of the purchase you could end up purchasing a home you never really wanted or end up paying too much.

Mistake # 2: Guesstimating How Much you can Afford

Like they say “numbers don’t lie!” the problem is you have to be sure you add them up correctly.  When deciding how much you can afford, this can turn out to be the most important aspect.  It is always great to have an idea of how much you are willing to spend and what a fixed rate mortgage is going to cost you each month over the term of the loan but what about all of the other costs like insurance, taxes, HOAs, moving costs, extra commute and depending on where you are moving to the change in the cost of living.  Depending on what stage you are at in the home search it may be in your best interest you to sit down with a mortgage broker or other financial guru to discuss all of the costs that will be involved, I would hate to be finalizing the house and find out there is a $6,000 a year property tax under my dream home that I did not budget for.

Mistake # 3: Skimping on the Home Inspection

Most of the time when we receive bad news with a car malfunctioning, air condition system not working or even a high insurance quote the first thing we do is get a second opinion or another estimate. A home inspection is almost the same idea, you were the first inspector (even if you didn’t know it) and there is no reason not to get another professional to look things over.  This still may seem pointless but if the doctor told you that your leg had an internal fracture without performing an X-ray would you take his word for it?  Do yourself a favor, get the home inspection by a reputable professional with a good track record the cheapest is not always the best in this case.

Mistake # 4: No Contingencies With Earnest Money Depostis

In the midst of a buyers’ market much like where we are now, it is important to have everything ready to go with a preapproval letter and the money on hand to make the purchase.  With that said many times there may be other buyers looking at the home you are which can make it interesting when trying to get the home under contract.  After the negotiation is complete, to be sure you are serious about the property sometimes there is an “intent to purchase” that you sign along with an allotted amount of money that must be put down known as “earnest money”.  Depending on the contract you sign you must be aware that this money would be kept if you decide to walk away from the deal.  Of course you assume this would never happen BUT what if there is something unforeseen until the home inspection like termite infestation or even foundation damage.  If you aren’t careful the earnest money could be kept even when these insinuating circumstances arise.  It is important to be sure that this earnest money can be gotten back if things like the home inspection or financing does not go through, that way the $2,000 or more goes back into your pocket and put towards another place.

Everyone can make mistakes but these mistakes tend to have zeroes behind them when making such a large purchase.  With careful planning, not allowing your emotions to get in the way, being honest with yourself and knowing what you are signing up for these issues can be totally eliminated.  From the team at www.Moversatlas.com happy house hunting!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

6 Tips on Buying Your First Home

Buying your first home is a very exciting time in your life but it can also be a very stressful and confusing experience. For that reason we came up with 6 tips to help you through the process of buying your first home!help for first time home buyers

1. Attend a First-Time Home Buyer’s Seminar to learn all the ins and outs of buying and owning a home. You will be able to ask questions about securing loans for payment of your mortgage, what types of things to look for in a home and even learn about maintaining and repairing your home when you get it. The best part about it is that many of these seminars are free.

2. Seek Pre-approval for a Loan. This will allow you to have a better idea of just how much you will be able to borrow. It also lets the seller know how serious and committed you are to purchasing a new home.

3. Find a Right Real Estate Agent. We talked about this in a previous post so be sure to check that out for further details on how to find and pick the right one. This will be very important in the home buying process. Bear in mind that there are Buyer agents and Seller agents.

4. Make Sure You Know What You Can Afford. This is another subject that was mentioned in a previous post. There are numerous affordability calculators available online through many different websites which will be able to help you gauge you price range. This goes hand in hand with calculating your monthly mortgage payments. You want to make sure that you can afford it and that the monthly costs will not be a surprise to you when calculating you budget.

5. Don’t Forget about the Closing Costs. These are charges by the lender and include title and settlement fees, taxes and homeowner’s insurance.

6. Lastly, Look at the Big Picture. Remember that a home is an investment and with it there may be many hidden costs associated. You should take into account possible repairs and renovations prior to purchasing the home. Also remember to try to separate what you want from what you actually need in a home.

Your first time will be very exciting but you want to ensure that you are making a wise decision and the right decision.

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.