Kelsey's Real Estate Tips and Tricks

Saving for a home: Put your purchases in perspective With the New Year approaching, there's a lot of talk about resolutions. Perhaps your New Year's Resolution is to buy a home in 2014, but how do you get there? You've been saving for what feels like forever, but the amount in that savings account is just not going to cut it. Fortunately, there are a lot of programs out there that can help you out. With an FHA loan for example, you can put down as little as 3.5% on your home. However, that's still a lot of money. Between the down payment, closing costs, and all of those little essentials you need when you move in, the amount of money you need can become daunting. So, you need a plan. Start by making yourself a budget, and stick to it! Think about the big picture here. How important is it that you're able to buy a house? Can you give up going out to dinner three times a week for the next few months in order to save more? Can you forego buying those new shoes...

Buying a home: Step 3 – Prioritize your "Must-Haves" So you know what you can afford and you've narrowed down your prime location(s). What now? Well, here's where compromise really starts to come into play. Unless you have unlimited funds, which very few people do, you will not get everything you want in a house. There will have to be give and take.  What's important to you? I find that the best way to work through the many things you   want,  to determine what you actually   need,  is to make a list. Write down everything that you would like to have in a house, and then start putting these things in order of priority. (You can probably cross stuff off while you're at it too... yeah, I'd   like  to have an elevator in my house, but it's probably not a necessity.) If you are buying a property on your own, then this should be fairly easy, as yours is the only opinion that really matters. However, if you're part of a couple, or buying joint...

Buying a home: Step 2 – Choose a location So in my last post, I mentioned that it was important to understand your means before you choose a location. You might be asking yourself, "why?" Well, it's simple really: some locations are more affordable than others. Until you know what you can really afford, you don't know if it's even possible to buy a house that's, let's say... 10 minutes from the city.  There will always have to be a balance, a compromise, between your wish list and location. Even if location is your number one priority, it is still important to understand what you can afford and what that will buy you in your dream location. There's no point in falling in love with a 4 bed, 3 bath, single family home in Arlington, VA when  your budget will only get you a 2 bedroom condo in that location. Then the question becomes: do you buy the condo to be in your dream location, or do you move out from the city a bit to get more of what you...

Buying a home can be very scary, especially if it’s your first time. That can be true for anything new you try! As with anything new, it’s important that you understand the process and plan ahead. The first step in the process of buying a home (whether it’s your first home or your tenth!) is to understand your means. It’s very important to talk to a mortgage broker to understand a) IF you qualify to buy a home and b) what amount of money you qualify to borrow. However, just because you qualify for a certain amount, doesn’t mean you can actually afford the monthly payments! It all depends on your lifestyle. Do you like to travel? Do you go out to eat a lot? Are you a fashion fanatic? All of these things and more will impact how much you can afford when buying a home, unless you want to change your lifestyle completely. And who wants that? No one wants to be house-poor… right? When talking to your lender, make sure to as...