How to Save For Your First Home
If you’ve decided to purchase your first home, chances are you are struggling with how to save enough money to finance it. We hope this list of tips, practices and apps puts an end to that struggle, empowering you to take charge of saving and achieve your dream of homeownership sooner rather than later!
1. Know The Market
Know what you want in a home in terms of size and approximate location, then study the market so you’re familiar with sales of comparative homes. Visit neighborhoods of interest in your target market to be sure they have what you want: parks, schools, shopping, mass transit, proximity to major cities or airports, restaurants, cultural activities, etc.
2. Commit To Saving And Stay Focused On It!
Determine how much money you will need to buy a home in the market you’ve targeted, taking into consideration the type of loan and interest rate you’ll qualify for, the down payment you’ll need, and you’re estimated monthly mortgage. Now that you have a solid estimate of how much you’ll need, keep your eye on the prize and do not waver from your savings goal.
Working with an experienced real estate pro can help you navigate the financial complexities of buying a home, and it will surely save you time as you focus on saving money.
3. Pay Down Credit Card Debt
When it comes to investing, there aren’t many other investments that will yield the rate of return that buying a home will. But first, pay down debt and eliminate all but a few essential credit cards. Next, have more available credit on your credit card, for it can increase your credit score and decrease your debt-to-income ratio, which in turn may help you qualify for a lower mortgage rate. And always, be sure to retain a stash of money since you may need it later for moving or unanticipated homeowner needs.
4. Automate Your Budgeting
Develop a budget by carefully detailing every single source of income and every single expense so you are crystal clear about money in and money out. Identify red flags and ‘leaky’ areas where you need to tighten spending, plugging holes in the dyke, so to speak.
Using a FREE app like Mint, you can sync all your accounts (e.g., checking, savings, credit cards, etc.), track your expenses, and place them in budget categories. Even better, you can set spending limits for your categories and the app will inform you when you’re approaching those limits. While there are other good budgeting apps, NerdWallet states that Mint “provides tons of support for using the app, including a detailed FAQ.”
When you’ve determined how much you need to cover all cost-of-living expenses each month, you can then determine how much you can actually save. If you automatically transfer that savings amount to your savings account, chances are you’ll ever miss it.
5. Learn About Uplift, A Renter-to-Owner Program
Atlas Real Estate loves helping its renter/residents achieve the dream of homeownership. After many years of careful program research and creation, Atlas launched the Uplift program to educate their pool of renters and help them buy a home within a 3-year timeframe through a variety of program benefits.
Uplift is designed to help make at least one small dent in the national housing crisis that’s been caused by rising prices and spiking interest rates, effectively pricing out countless renter households that previously could afford a home. Visit Atlas Uplift to learn how Atlas helps renters become homeowners!
