Encouragement for First Time Home Buyers

In today’s society, buying a “first home” is a must have. Dreams of having a big four bedroom, two bathroom house is the cliché perspective that everyone has. Buying a house that is completely perfect and being at the top of the market is the way to go, right?

Buying a home does take a lot of financial planning and time. Most lenders require having a hefty down payment before they would consider giving a prospective buyer a loan. At 5% to 10% down, from some banks, coming up with the money can be a difficult, and sometimes down-right-nasty, task.

With the home values rising constantly, I would always advise new home-owners to aim their prospects low. Don’t take the best looking house that is available in the community. Choose a house that needs work, your efforts will definitely pay off in the end. All you would really need is a home that has a good structure and decent layout. Remember, you can always build value onto it!

Speaking from experience, my first home was a fixer-upper. It needed new windows, a new roof, porch, updated decor. You name it, it needed it. I bought the house for very little money and felt I was ready to take on the incredible adventure of owning my own home.

The saying, “It takes money to make money,” is absolutely true when it comes to your home. Look at all the options available to you with everything from what kind of roofing you want to the decision of having hardwood floors or carpet in the dining room. This is a list of projects that will add tens of thousands of value to your home, and cost you a lot less.

Outside:

1. Pick up the yard, cut down trees, mow the grass, do some landscaping. All of these things are a major plus when future buyers come to look at your property. They don’t exactly add value to the home, but it does make for a nice presentation.
2. Replace the roof. The roof of the house is a very big project that will raise the property value quite a bit. Having a tin roof is a very popular alternative to re-shingling. Sure it costs a little more, but the lifespan of tin is almost twice as long as shingles.
3. Rebuild that front porch; build a new porch or patio. Because the front deck/patio is attached to the house it does add value. Most likely, the value of the house will raise the same amount as it cost to build the porch.

Inside:

1. Update the decor, replace the carpet and windows, and buff the floors. These don’t necessarily add more value to the home as to make it more appealing to the eye.
2. Remodel the kitchen and bathroom. Remodeling these two rooms can add so much value to your home. You can find new cabinets, sinks, showers, toilets, etc. at discounted rates everywhere because they sometimes have visual defects that can be buffed out with a little work. Remodeling a bathroom can add up to $10,000 to the value of the home while remodeling a kitchen can bring the value up $20,000+.
3. Re-finish the basement, attic, or add on a room. By adding on or re-finishing the basement and attic, the value of the home will almost double because of having more available space for living.

The average American renter is worth less than $5,000, while the average homeowner is worth more than $180,000. Get a loan, buy a home, and watch your equity grow.