3 Things To Remember When Buying a Condo

Condominiums, or condos, are individual units inside of a larger building or structure, each of which is privately owned. A condo may be more appealing than buying a house due to extra amenities offered with ownership, such as trash removal or the use of a gym or pool. However, there are some things you should know before signing on the dotted line.

They Can Be Pricey

They may cost less than a single-family home in the same neighborhood. But if you can't pay out-of-pocket and need to take out a mortgage, the building you live in can be a factor in calculating interest rates, potentially making them higher.

With condos, the mortgage is not the only monthly bill you have to keep up with, as there may be separate fees associated with the amenities packaged into ownership. Parking, maintenance, gym access—even if you opt-out of using those services, you're still on the hook to pay for them.

However, if you have a high-profile profession with concerns about personal security, a more exclusive condo may make sense. Some buildings—like those operated by the Soloway company, which is run by Stefan Soloviev—offer "porte-cocherè" and private gatehouses, which allow for heightened safety and privacy.

Location Matters

When buying a condo, you should consider the proximity to your job, your children's schools, shopping, transportation and emergency services. If the condo you are considering is in a skyscraper, ask about how fires and crises' are handled, as well as response times.

Conversely, you don't want emergency services to be too close, either. Living across the street from the firehouse may sound nice on paper, but it's another story when you're woken up every few hours by truck sirens.

Investigate the HOA

The home owner's association (HOA) is who receives the fees for the extra services available with condo ownership, and dictates how that money is used and when. Some will want to interview and assess you before approving your condo ownership to ensure you and your family fit in with their community vision, but you shouldn't be the only one being grilled.

The HOA should be forthcoming with the qualifications of board members, past expenditures and with plans for future spending. Even if they're "on the level" and honest with what they do, you might find that they're not the greatest with money management and planning.

You know what is best for your living situation and family. By keeping these things in mind, you will be sure to find an ideal fit.

How To Prepare To Buy Your Dream House

Everyone fantasizes about their dream home. This house is the place you want to be your forever home, so you need it to meet your individual needs. You have to spend time preparing for your dream home, and chances are you'll have to build it yourself because it will need to be customized. If you're planning on building your dream home, use these three tips to prepare for the process.

Improve Your Credit Score

You need a decent credit score to make a major purchase. Because you'll most likely need to secure a construction loan before you build, it's a good idea to spend a few years improving your credit score so you can qualify for a great interest rate on the loan. Start by checking your free credit score so you know if you need to improve it.

It takes some time time to raise your credit score, so if you aren't happy with it, you need to start implementing measures to raise it now. Try to improve your debt to credit limit ratio by paying down credit cards. You may need to change your spending habits to get out of debt.

Know What You Want

While you may have a basic idea of what your dream home looks like, you may not know certain details. You can easily change your mind on some details. It's easy to change paint colors or fixtures depending upon your personal taste, but if you want to make bigger changes to the blueprint of your home, you need to make the decision before you start building.

It can help to make a list of features you want your new home to have. Make sure you know how many bedrooms you need and what you want to layout of your home to look like. You can make a separate list of smaller features that can be changed easily.

Set a Budget

Your budget is arguably the most important part of building a house. It determines how much house you can afford to build, so you want it to be sizeable. If you don't set a budget, you may find that you overextend yourself and can't afford your new house note each month. Because you never want to choose between paying for your house or feeding your family, it's important to make sure your budget is reasonable.

Before setting a budget, you should track your expenses for a few months. Know exactly how much money you need to cover your bills each month. You should also make sure to give yourself a little spending money each month so that you can afford small purchases. Once you have a good understanding of how much money you bring in each month and how much goes out. This shows you how much frivolous spending you do each month so you can see where to cut corners.

This is a great way to save money for a down payment. It also allows you to set a monthly budget for a house note so you won't accidentally overextend yourself and be unable to afford your new house. Give yourself enough room to pay for the features you want without forcing you to give up your lifestyle.

Building your dream home is an extensive project, but it can be fun and exciting. You have to put a lot of time into planning for your new house. The best way to prepare to build your dream home is to start thinking about the future now, and if you use these three tips, you can make the process go more smoothly. Start thinking about these things to prepare for the process of building your dream home.

Money Saving Tips: How To Save For Your First Home

The prospect of buying your first home is so exciting – soon you’ll have a place all to yourself that you can make your own. But the journey to becoming a homeowner isn’t always easy.

Not only do you need to determine your budget, prepare all of the crucial documents, and remain incredibly patient throughout the process, but you also need to assess where you’re getting the money for a down payment from – as well as how you’ll finance the mortgage each month. 

In this country, it’s becoming more and more difficult to afford a house or apartment. While it can be easier at times to qualify for a conforming loan when the down payment is lower, you will still be better off to put as much money down from the get-go. This will help to decrease the amount that you’re paying each month. 

However, you don’t only need to consider saving for the down payment. You’ll also have to take into account the other costs associated with the move - such as closing costs or repairs you need to do within the home.

So how can you efficiently save enough money for all of the costs? Here are some money saving tips that you can use to help:

Set A Goal 

Before even looking at houses, you need to take a look at your finances to assess how much you can realistically afford. By using a tool such as a mortgage calculator, you’ll be able to see how much a property will cost you each month, along with the interest. 

An invaluable tool, it’s key in the first stage of your house hunt – no matter what you think your budget will be. It also helps you set your expectations lower – because as nice as it would be to afford a million-dollar house from the get-go, that simply isn’t possible for most first time buyers. 

Be Strict with Yourself 

When you want to buy a house, you need to be strict with yourself financially. Otherwise, this dream might soon become a thing of the past. Cut back on going out, cancel memberships you might have, etc. – you’ll be surprised at how much you can save each month. 

Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to completely miss out on a social life or enjoyment when you’re at home. It’s just simple changes that you can make that will help make the chance of becoming a homeowner come sooner rather than later. To do this effectively, there are budgeting apps that can help you – including YNAB and Clarity Money.

Cut Back on Grocery Shopping

Do you spend far too much on groceries every month? Then it’s time to cut down. By shopping at a cheaper store or buying things in bulk, you’ll be able to save a little bit more money each month. As well as making this swap, it’s also worth cutting back on the number of times that you eat out – an expense which will prevent you from saving effectively. 

Make Some Extra Cash 

As well as saving but making certain sacrifices each month, it’s a good idea to look into ways that you can make some extra money. This can be anything from organizing a yard sale to sell off all of your old possessions to taking on a part-time job on the weekend. By earning extra cash you’ll be able to save more towards your down payment. 

Even though the prospect of taking on another job might not be appealing at first, it’s a little extra work that will make all the difference.

Consider Opening a Savings Account

As well as all of the above, it’s also worth opening a savings account either online or at the bank that you’re currently using. Of course, it’s more convenient to use the same bank as you’ll be able to transfer money back and forth from the different accounts. 

This technique is a great method of putting money away each month – without you worrying that you’ll spend it if it remains within your current account. To make the temptation even less, once you have the amount you require for a down payment you could even ‘lock’ the account so that you can’t touch the money for a certain amount of time.

A Quick Word of Advice

All of the above are good methods to use when you want to save money for your first home. During the process, however, you will also want to check your credit score. This will affect the rate of what you pay, as well as how much you can borrow.

A key step towards being approved for a mortgage, if it’s good, your mortgage lender might be more likely to offer a low down payment.

Your credit score will be decided based on the information within your credit reports; electronic files, they hold information showing how much you have borrowed over the years, if you have any debt, if you have ever missed payments, etc. 

Final Thoughts

So, there you go! Those are 5 ways that you can save money for your first home. The methods you use, of course, are up to you. But as long as you take action to save far in advance, there’s no reason why you can’t have your dream home. 

Throughout the process, it is, however, important to stay realistic. Buying a house is a big step and one that can’t happen overnight. So just because you can’t get your perfect house immediately, it doesn’t mean that it won’t ever happen. 

If you need advice throughout the stages, it’s also worth seeking professional guidance from your mortgage advisor who will give you a clearer picture as to how much you can realistically spend on the move. Once you have this, then you can start the house hunt. 

During this step, however, make sure that your realtor is only showing you properties that you can afford – you don’t want to overstretch yourself or get attached to a property that you can’t actually get.