Should you Purchase a Home Now?

Many of you out there are wondering whether now is a good time to buy or not? If you are thinking about buying a home and are not going to do so now, then you are probably thinking that home prices are going to keep going down so why not wait until they have bottomed out.

This stategy may be a good idea, but you could miss out on a great home now. There are excellent deals on homes all over the country right now and if you have the credit and the money to purchase a home today I would highly recommend it. There is no magic formula to be able to time the market perfectly and buy right at the bottom so buying near the bottom is about as good as you can hope for.

The four questions you need to ask yourself before buying a home:

1. Is my credit score a 620 or higher? You could get financing if you are below a 620, but it will be difficult and expensive.

2. Do I have enough money for a down payment, closing costs, furniture(if needed) and repairs(even if there are none needed at the time there will be)? You will need a minimum of 3.5% of the homes value for a down payment and between 2% and 5% for closing costs. You may be able to get the seller to pay for your closing costs - tomorrow's blog!

3. Am I going to live in this home for at least 2 years? If you do not live in the home for at least 2 years you will most likely lose money when you sell because of realtor fees and closing costs.

4. Does this house make sense for my lifesyle? Meaning - Is the house close enough to work, is it big enough, is it too big, am I willing to spend the time to keep it up...A house you own is much more work than an apartment or a rental home. When something breaks you fix it or you have to pay someone else to.

If you can answer yes, yes, yes and yes to these three questions then I would say start looking for your house.

There are a lot of choices out there so I would recommend getting a realtor. You will want some help sifting through the choices and a good realtor can be an invaluable asset in the home purchasing project.

Some helpful links with this article are:
http://www.realtor.org/research/research/ehsdata
http://finance.yahoo.com/how-to-guide/real-estate/12819

Check out www.thebriteway.com when you are ready to look into purchasing or refinancing your home.

Have a great day!