When is the time to buy and how much do you want to spend ?

When is the time to buy and how much do you want to spend ?  

You’re currently renting and paying a high rent.  You would like to own your own home and an investment for the future.  It’s a big step and you’re keen to get the timing right.  The truth is everyone’s situation is different and no one can predict the future.  Sometimes people think it’s best to enter the market and buy a home when consumer sentiment is low as there can be good value available.  Once the economy improves and confidence returns this usually means that prices will start to increase. 

The next thing is to decide how much you want to spend on your home.  Setting a budget for your property purchase is always a difficult and very important decision.  You need to know how much you can afford each month and translate that into the amount you can afford to take out on your new mortgage.  When you start house hunting with that budget in mind, you may find to your dismay that you are not seeing many homes in the price range you have set that match your needs.

There are three choices you have to make in this situation.  The first is to wait , keep looking, and hope the house you want comes up on the market in your price range.  The second is to compromise and buy a house that is affordable but not really what you want.  The final choice is to look at raising your budget. The best advice is not to rush into making a hasty decision.  Figure out what your current financial situation is and put a cushion in place when calculating your figures in case your circumstances change in the future.  If you are considering raising your maximum purchase price then calculate what difference it will make in your actual monthly payment.  In some cases the difference may not be as difficult to handle as you might think.  Using a mortgage calculator you can easily figure out what it would cost you per month to increase your budget figure by say €20,0000.  Sometimes even a small raise in your maximum price can put you into a whole new class of available homes.

Therefore the decision you have to make is if you are you willing to consider making some personal budget cutbacks such as on entertainment to enable you to have the house of your dreams ?  How important is it to you to get everything on your wish list or are you willing to compromise on something ?  If having the right house is the most  important thing to you then you may be prepared to stretch your finances to achieve your goal.  A little flexibility is always a good idea when you start searching for the right house as sometimes spending a little more will save you later in terms of property value.  It can also save you from having to move again when you decide the compromise to save money was not worth it and you need to move to a larger property or a different area.

To learn more click here