WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFORE BUYING A HOUSE.


Buying a house is probably the biggest investment that the average person will ever make in their life time. It's a big deal and it must be done with great planning and care. Buying a house should never be on a whim, but rather thoughtfully planned out and executed especially if it's your first house.


Growing up, I didn't know anything about buying a house and while my parent purchased a house at some point, they never talked about the process involved in buying a house. I basically learnt everything about buying and owning a house when the time came for my husband and I to purchase our first house.


It was quite the process to say the least.  The good news is after years of home ownership, I have learned a lot that I wish I knew before buying a house the first time. I'm sharing all the tea today, in hopes of helping others who are about to buy their first house or even those who already own a home but you are not applying the tips below. 


PLAN AHEAD AND BE PREPARED:


It's very important, not to jump on the bandwagon because all your friends and family members own a home. If you are not ready, wait, save enough down payment, save for emergency expenses, closing costs, lawyer fees and a whole other slew of things that are involved in buying a house. 


I hate to break it to you, but you can't call your landlord when anything breaks in the house. You are the landlord and you have to fork out the cash to fix it. Owning a house is far from a child's play, so take it seriously and prepare years ahead of time.


BUY A HOUSE IN YOUR BUDGET:


Believe it or not, you can get way over your head with so much excitement as a first time home buyer. You would want to have the longest must-have list. Take it easy, and pump your breaks! It's your first home and you will most likely move again. Your goal should be to get into a decent house in a good location just to get in the housing market, build equity and eventually afford your forever home.


We did stay under budget for our first house (so this is an advice) but people did make comments like why did you not buy detached and whatever else they wanted to say. Listen, you will be paying the mortgage, not them, so do you. If you buy a house that is too expensive for you, it will come back to bite you. You are cheating yourself, not the bank because they can come after you and leave you with nothing to show for your hard work. 


If you lose your job or fall sick, and you miss mortgage payments, your house will go into foreclosure eventually.  Moreover, you will destroy your credit all in the name of pleasing and impressing people. If it's a small town house you can afford, start there, build equity and then buy a bigger house that you can truly afford.


PUT MORE DOWN PAYMENT:


We paid 5% for our first house and I wished we had paid more. While this is hard to do, it has great economic benefits such as you avoiding a mortgage default insurance (which is to protect the lender, not you) plus putting a bigger down payment down means your mortgage payments will be smaller, giving some comfort and some wiggle room. 


Putting 20% down payment makes your mortgage, a conventional mortgage and you will not have to purchase the mortgage default insurance. It is a nice chunk of change, that you can throw at your mortgage later. Read more about Conventional Mortgages HERE.


PAYMENT OPTIONS:


I wish I understood the value of different payment options. When we first bought our house just like many others, we automatically chose the monthly payment option, not knowing that paying a mortgage frequently has great added benefits. I had no clue about it and I did not take advantage of it for the longest time.


It was definately in our contract but most of the time, first time home buyers make choices that are easier, which is understandable so, due to the fear of the unknown. Once I understood the benefits of accelerated payment options I have never looked back! Choosing accelerated payment options and paying your mortgage weekly/biweekly takes about 3 to 4 years off the life span of your mortgage and you also save on interest.  I mean who doesn't like saving? I certainly do! If you do too, read more about accelerated mortgage payments HERE. 


MORTGAGE AMORTIZATION PRIVILEGES:


This is also another fantastic benefit that I did not understand, as a result I did not use it to my benefit from the get go. Oh man do I ever wish I did!


Do you know most lenders offer mortgage amortization privileges that are meant for you to pay off your mortgage faster and save on interest too? Absolutely and without additional penalties. Yes, read your contracts, know and understand them like the back of your hands. Don't just go throw it somewhere to collect dust and never look at it again until it's time for you to renew your mortgage. That's a no-no...it really pays to pay attention, so do it. 


The following are the privileges you can implement today, to pay off your mortgage faster and be debt free sooner rather than later:


  • Increase payments: If you have extra money in your budget after all expenses are paid, you can certainly throw it at your mortgage by increasing your weekly/biweekly payments.

  • Lump sum payments: You can also make lump sum payments every year up to a specified amount by your lender that goes straight to your principle amount to help pay down your mortgage faster. You can put income tax returns, work bonuses to a good use by taking advantage of lump sum payments. I think these privileges are fantastic! Don't you think? Read more about paying off your mortgage faster HERE.

That's it guys, I hope this helps you make a better decision on how you pay your mortgage. I know it will take an incredible amount of  discipline to take full advantage of the tips above, but it's so doable and it really does pay, literally. 


I certainly wish I knew and understood these tips when we purchased our first house. That is why, I'm passionate about putting the information out there so you can implement them sooner than I did. If you already own a home, it's not too late, talk to a financial professional to help you understand your options so you can make better choices. 


As always I'm not a financial professional but through asking questions, researching and years of home ownership has taught me a lot of things that I never knew as a first time home buyer. Everything I spoke about in this post are things that I actually do myself and it has proven to be of great benefits to our finances.


If you need more information talk to your lender or the bank. Everything is also available to you in your mortgage contract. Familiarize yourself and take full advantage of them, so you can keep, the extra money in your pocket. Find all the books linked below on AMAZON.


MY FAVOURITE FINANCIAL FREEDOM RESOURCE BOOKS:


































Medaase (Thank you) and S.M.I.L.E!

S - See

M - Miracles

I - In

L - Life

E - Everyday


XX

EMELIA


4 comments

  1. I am thrilled to read this post. I hope many will come this way and get all this information to help their decision on buying a home/offsetting their debt more effectively because I got some good take aways. Thank you Em.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, thank you very much for such a great job You've been doing for us.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, thank you very much for such a great job You've been doing for us.

    ReplyDelete