The housing market has shown significant improvement in the last few months since a nearly seven year downward trend. There are positives and negatives for a buyer in a market that is coming back around but the fact is, no one can predict what the market will do next month so the best thing to do is set your own criteria. If you are a first time home buyer there are certain goals you should have in mind when you look for Homes For Sale Sierra Vista.
There were many conditions that lead to the big real estate credit bust in 2007 but the number one problem was that people were buying property that they were not able to afford. It is a favorite trick of all salespeople to get a customer to buy bigger than they had anticipated and this is exactly what happened. If you are a first time home buyer then you need to set a budget and stick to it.
For starters, a general rule of thumb, although many mortgage brokers or real estate agents would like to tell you otherwise, is that you should budget for $1,000 a month in fees for every $100,000 you receive in a loan. What that means is that if your mortgage is for a $200,000 home, then you should set aside $2,000 a month for mortgage. While it may not all go towards a mortgage, the rest should be allocated toward a rainy day fund. As any homeowner will tell you, things go wrong all the time and you can’t call your landlord to fix the problem when you own the home.
Secondly, which for some may be the first rule, location means everything in real estate. While you may think that you want to spend the rest of your life in your first home you may never know how your life will change in the upcoming years. An investor will advise strongly against buying a home if you don’t foresee yourself there for at least five years. When you look for a property you should Browse Site of several different communities to see what developments are both short and long term for the area and if it will be a great location in years to come. Browse Site for more information.