Home Buying Tips For The Job Seekers, Empty-Nesters and New Parents
Life is unpredictable, and buying a home can mean committing to live in the same place, with the same yard, same commute, and same school district until you move. That can be a lot to commit to, especially when each stage of your life can bring new challenges. When deciding on a home, it is important to look at least 5 years into the future. We are sharing home buying tips for the job seekers, empty-nesters, and new parents to help make your home buying process a little bit easier. Keep reading to learn more and click this link to read the full article.
"I work with a lot of buyers, and my personal philosophy is that we are buying on a five-year plan," says Susan Little, a real estate agent in Brooklyn, NY.
In real estate, the general rule of thumb is that you should live in your home (i.e., make mortgage payments on that house) for at least five years to make it worthwhile. You want to be able to live in the home long enough for it to increase in value and provide a return when the time comes to sell it.You also want to make sure the house will suit your family and living situation. Are you getting ready to start a family? Is your youngest kid going off to college in a year? Assessing your life plans in the next handful of years is a crucial step in the home-buying process.
Let's look at some of the most common significant life stages with insight on when it's the right time to buy or sell your home, or just stay put.
The couple thinking about having kids
"If you're thinking about starting a family in the next one to three years, go ahead and buy in a good school district and start establishing equity," says Dillar Schwartz, a Realtor® in Austin, TX.If it's in your budget to buy big enough for your future family, then do it, especially since trying to do the sell-buy-move shuffle isn't much fun if you're pregnant or caring for a newborn.If your baby plans are further off in the future, "don't buy a bunch of space you're not going to use in the next three years."
The (almost) empty nesters
Sorry to say it, Mom and Dad, but you should hold off on downsizing. Even if your kids are college-bound in the next year or two, you'll need a place to put them when they're home on winter or summer break.Furthermore, according to Pew research, college grads aged 18 to 34 are more likely to be living with their parents than a partner or roommates. Sure, selling the family home is a good way to discourage boomerang kids, but do you really want to risk sharing your hip little condo with an unemployed 20-something roommate?