Humble Housing: How To Find A Dream Home That's Within Your Means

Searching for a home is always exciting, whether it's your first home or your fifth. However, buying a home is also a major expense. 

In fact, it is usually the most expensive thing you will ever buy. So it's very important to buy a home that's within your means. This guide will go over some of the best ways to find a dream home that's well within your budget.

Decide What You Can Afford

There are plenty of handy calculators online that can help you determine, based on your income and how much of a mortgage payment per month you wish to pay, what kind of house you can afford. 

Use these, as well as the amount of loan you are approved for, to determine what your price range is and stick to it. It's usually a better idea to buy in the lower end of your price range. 

That way it's less likely you'll get stuck later with a mortgage you cannot afford.

Hire A Real Estate Agent

A real estate agent (such as those with Re/Max Alliance - The Diane Stow Team for the Longmont, Colorado area, for example) know the local real estate market and can direct you towards houses that meet your needs, are in the neighborhoods you want and that are within your price range. 

They also might be able to direct you towards builders who can build your perfect home for a good price - for example, by buying someone else's designs rather than hiring an architect, you can save a lot of money.

Be Realistic About Fixer-Uppers

Decide what you can and cannot handle when it comes to fixing up a home. Most homes that are on the market for cheap have some kind of problem or another, ranging in severity. 

You can save a lot of money by buying a home with problems, but you also have to be able to fix those problems. Issues with the home must be disclosed and will be caught by your inspector, so you can make an educated decision about whether you can fix the problem yourselves, if it's worth it to hire someone to fix it or if you should just pass the property up entirely.

Compromise

You are unlikely to find an absolutely perfect home that has everything you want. Before you start hunting for a house, you need to make a realistic list of features that are must-haves, nice-to-haves and don't-want. 

This will help you narrow down homes to look at. For example, you might have to compromise about location, or trade off a bigger backyard for a better kitchen. It all depends on what you value more.

There are ways to find your dream home, or even build it, when you have limited means. Take these tips to heart and find a good real estate agent, and you should have pretty good luck on your search.