Questions to Ask before Buying a Home
Since buying a home is probably the largest financial decision that you will make in your lifetime, make sure that it is the right step for you. Evaluate your situation, be honest with yourself, and ask yourself questions to ensure that you are ready to take on this responsibility. ForeclosedHomes.com has prepared the following questions to ask yourself before buying a home:
Can you handle the monthly payments?
The best way to find the answer to this question is to sit down and establish a monthly budget that honestly and accurately reflects how much money is coming in and where it goes. As you are plugging different mortgage payments into the budget, make sure that you leave some extra money aside each month to cover unexpected expenses.
Can you afford your monthly utilities and pay your mortgage?
This is one of the more useful things to know before buying a home, as you’ll want to be sure that these payments are timely. Many homes for sale will have an information sheet that lists the average costs of utilities for the home. Take that figure, add twenty percent for extremes in weather and see how that figure fits into your monthly budget.
Do you have the money to pay closing costs?
On average, you can figure closing costs around 2 to 5 percent of the home’s purchase price. After setting aside the money for the down payment, plan to have at least another 5 percent to cover the closing costs. Any remaining funds can be used for household necessities.
Can you afford new furniture and moving costs after making a down payment?
As a rule, unless you can pay for it in full, you may want to put off buying new furniture. It is tempting to buy new furniture for your new home, but you want to be very careful about taking on another monthly payment.
Always remember that buying a home is a decision that you will, literally, be living with for years to come. Therefore, when asking yourself these and other questions before buying a home, make sure that you answer them honestly to make decisions that are best for you now and for the future.