What if I can’t afford what I want? As prices continue to rise, we hear this more and more from our first time home buyers. You may want a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms, but your price range may make it tough to accomplish this in the neighborhood you want to be in.
So what are my alternatives? The first and maybe easiest way to accomplish this it to look at other property types. For instance, if you are looking for a single family home but feel like they’re out of your price range, you could start looking at townhouses or condos.
But I’ve always wanted a yard. We realize for some first time home buyers, a single family home is all they’re willing to consider. The next possibility is moving outside your specific geographic area to see if outlying areas are more affordable.
But we have to stay in our existing school district! Sometimes first time home buyers are absolutely NOT willing to look outside a specific area due to school zoning or other reasons. A third option is considering a property that needs some cosmetic updates.
As long as I get the number of bedrooms/bathrooms I want. It may even make sense to look at a home with LESS bedrooms and baths, as long as it has the potential to add these things later. Many of our first time home buyers are considering starting families but don’t have them yet. So a strategy could be looking at homes with unfinished basements, where you could add bedrooms and baths later. The point is, when buying your first home it may make sense to think outside the box.
Don’t make the biggest financial decision of your life without getting educated! If you’d like to learn more about the home buying process, please go to our Calendar/Reservations page and sign up for one of our FREE First Time Home Buyer workshops.
