New Year, New Home Goals: How To Set Realistic Housing Resolutions

Ringing in the new year and setting those goals, isn’t that what January 1st is all about? New Year’s resolutions can be centered around anything, so why stop at real estate? Since the market is already slow around this time of year, it is the perfect time to be in your planning phase. Break out the mood boards and figure out how to not break the bank when reaching these lifelong goals.

The process in and of itself can begin quite stressful, so proper organization early into the year can help take the burden off of you, setting the tone for the months to come. You are investing in yourself and your future, and with so many variables flying around it is important to stay clear and consistent. With this in mind, your celebration might even look a little bit like this: countdown the seconds, watch the ball drop, and open your binder with your best laid homebuying plans.

First, let’s take a look at the main components of what is motivating you to buy a home. Are you sick of renting? Have you been saving up for a while and are ready to put the money down? Or do you just think it is the logical next step? These motivations can be important in defining your goals, like whether you are buying a starter home, or one you can see yourself living in for the foreseeable future and maybe even forever!

A starter home will typically be cheaper and/or not meet all of the requirements of a home you’d like to spend the majority of your life in. It serves its purpose for the moment, may need a bit more work, or have more points of compromise than you were expecting. On the other hand, the other type of home may be pricier, have more updates with less work needed, and meet criteria you didn’t even consider. Depending on what you are looking for and where you are at in your life leads to the next factor you have to consider: finances.

Do you have enough money saved up for a standard down payment? Is your credit score high enough to get approved for the mortgage you need? Is your job stable enough that you will have a steady income for monthly payments? Mortgage payments can be broken down into its four major parts (PITI): principal, interest, taxes, and insurance. If the home is in an HOA, you will also have to consider the fees that can creep up monthly or annually, along with hidden costs when it comes to upkeep on the internal and external aspects of the home.

Mortgages have plenty more aspects to understand, such as whether it is a conventional or government loan, or whether it has a fixed or adjustable rate. This can change a variety of factors such as the down payment, the life of the loan, and the amount of interest that has to be paid back in the end. With unpredictable factors that can impact a borrower's ability to pay, it is important to not only create a plan when you take on this mortgage, but to also create back-ups in case things go awry.

Team work makes the dream work. While a real estate team or brokerage can guide you through the buying process, negotiate on your behalf, and help you stay organized and on track, it’s important to understand that we aren’t the ones approving your mortgage or managing every detail of your financial plan. That’s where networking and business connections become just as valuable as the home search itself. A strong real estate team knows which mortgage brokers are reliable, responsive, and transparent, and just as importantly, who to avoid.

We can help connect you with trusted lenders and guide you toward the best fit for your situation, whether that means shopping at a local bank with competitive terms, or working with a larger mortgage provider like Wells Fargo or another national mortgage provider. Connections are the key to success because there are too many opportunities to lose money when you try to navigate everything alone, from choosing the wrong loan type, to missing deadlines, to overlooking hidden costs. This is especially true for first-time buyers who may not know all the steps to take, or what order those steps should happen in. The right team doesn’t just help you buy a home, they help you build a smarter path to getting there.

So you’ve considered what type of home you’re after and the finances required for your dream, now it’s time to move onto how you are going to sign those closing papers. Hiring a real estate agent to do the heavy lifting such as finding properties to tour and communicating with the seller to negotiate on your behalf can make the process move at a pace that you may not be capable of doing on your own. Here at Urban District Realty LLC., we aim to make this process as simple as possible, keeping our clients both happy and on track to meet their goals.

Let us find you your dream home and make your New Year’s resolution come true.