5 Good Reasons Buying a House Requires Planning

Buying a house isn’t something it’s easy to just rush into; the more you plan for buying a home the better off you’ll be.  Here are five ways that planning ahead can help.

1) Time to Improve Your Credit Score
Your credit score & interest rate on your new home loan are closely related.  If you know you want to get a mortgage loan you can dispute credit report items and take other steps to improve your credit months before applying for the loan.

2) Mortgage Pre-Approval
Some people don’t realize that your realtor will want you to be pre-approved before making an offer on a house.  Make sure your finances are in order before seeking pre-approval so you will qualify for the desired loan amount.  You don’t want to find a house you really love but have it slip away because you weren’t pre-approved.

3) Saving the Down Payment
The days of split loans (also known as 80/20 loans) are long gone.  You’ll need to save up money for a down payment, the more you can save, the less private mortgage insurance you’ll have to pay.

4) Affording the Costs of Selling
If you have to sell your house first, the costs of selling your house are usually higher than people think.  Make sure you’ve added up all the costs and have enough money put away to cover them.

5) Completing Home Repairs
Again, if you have to sell your existing home, it’s wise to get a home inspection and fix any issues you find to help you sell faster and for more money.  Those home repairs will take time and money so get started on those ahead of time.

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

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