Things to Think About Before Buying Your Own Home

• One of the biggest things you need to consider before buying your own home is what your debt to income ratio looks like. To find out what your numbers are you need to get on a budget and stick to that budget for a few months. This will give you a good indication of just how much money is going out versus how much is coming in.


• Another thing to consider before buying a home of your own is how long you plan to live in a particular city or town. If you know for a fact that your job is not going to move you or that your family will not lead you in another direction then you may be fine to go ahead and purchase a home of your own. If you think that your job may lead you to another city in the next few years, it may be best to stay put if you can for a while and not take the leap into home ownership. Once you find a place that you and your family are comfortable in and your job is steady and not moving you around, you will then be more likely to fare better buying your own place.


• Another thing to think about before making a home purchase is the neighborhood in which you are considering living. For instance if you are an older couple and you notice all the other families in the neighborhood have little children running around, you might not feel comfortable living there. Go to the neighborhood you are considering buying in on a Saturday afternoon and you will most likely be able to see what things are like in that area.


• Lastly consider buying versus renting. A recent study showed that you can expect to pay 15.3% of your monthly income on housing if you buy versus 30.1% on renting. From these numbers you can see that the cost of buying is quite a bit less than renting. As I said before however if you plan to move to another area soon it may be best to rent for at least a little while.