Proven Way to Buy an Affordable Home and Profit - Part 5

Buying a home is one of the largest purchases one ever makes. It is the largest liability a person most often carries and can be a the greatest burden one ever faces.

This is the reason it is so important to create a plan when purchasing a home. You can be a successful and happy homeowner but it takes planning! So far in this series, I have given you four steps to help you with planning for home ownership. To recap, here are the four steps:

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• Step 1 - Determine a comfortable payment range
• Step 2 - Determine the real need for the purchase.
• Step 3 - Keep an open mind
• Step 4 - Build a team of professionals around you     

Today, I am sharing the final step ,(step 5) to buying an affordable home and making a profit which is: Be willing to slow down if needed. There are times during the process when speed is of essence, This is especially true once you are under contract for a home; however, if something goes wrong or needs further inspection, you may need to slow the process down to address the issue. 

Hindsight is always 20/20, and many new home buyers look back with clarity and wished they had done things differently during the process. Here is a list of regrets I have seen over the years. : 

• Inspection Items - Something showed up on the home inspection that warranted attention but because the Buyer was in a hurry to close, he/she did not take the time to address the issues. Slow down and address the inspection items. A good real estate agent can help you address the necessary items with the seller. Your lender may also be able to help. 
• Loan Structure  - The Buyer will often rush through the numbers and may not understand all of the available mortgage structures. Sometimes they choose a loan structure that is not the best structure for them because they do not have time to close on the best loan structure. Take time BEFORE going under contract on a home to find available loan structures. 
• Cost of Moving - Slow down to think this one through. This is the main regret I see with past clients. It is very common to underestimate how much it costs to move, and often times a person is more concerned with down payment than moving. It IS good to put down as much as you can on a home but when doing so, make sure you have set aside enough to move.  Always leave a 10% buffer for unexpected expenses. 
• Final Walk Through - Don't skip the opportunity to look through the home one more time before closing. I cannot tell you how many times I have been at  a closing table where the walk through has not been done and the Buyer asks about the repair items  only to find they have not been completed. The best time to make sure the items are addressed is  before you sign on the dotted line. 
• Financial Planning -  Without question, the biggest regret in home ownership is not taking advantage of the financial planning components that need to happen alongside the purchase. A mortgage is a long term debt. There needs to be enough insurance to pay off the mortgage should you pass away and a will in place. It is not a pleasant thought but I promise you - I have MANY buyers who have had to sell a home because there was not a term life insurance or a will in place. In the midst of the most difficult times of their lives, they are forced to deal with making arrangements to live somewhere else. Slow down and take time to properly ensure your home and put a will in place. 

This article wraps up the series on The Five Steps of A Proven Way to Buy A Home and Profit.. Take time to learn these five steps and use them to become a very happy, successful homeowner.. You will not be sorry for integrating these steps into your home buying adventure. 

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