You’ve looked at dozens of homes. Your real estate agent is about to tear her hair out with frustration. You are paralyzed, letting one great home after another pass you by.
Buying a home can be an overwhelming process. A home is hardly a liquid asset; it’s your greatest financial debt, even while it puts a roof over your head. As it appreciates, it also needs repairs and maintenance. With all that weighing on you, no wonder you’ve got commitment phobia.
Orange Key Realty understands the advantages to such a purchase are tax breaks, rising real estate values, and a stable environment for the family. So stifle your worries and keep looking for homes. The conflict between wanting to buy and being unable to make a decision, typically, has a cause — it’s money. Fear of spending too much Stretching to buy the most home you can possibly afford is good strategy, but only under certain conditions — that you have confidence that your salary will rise, your income is stable, and that you can handle surprise expenses. Your desires have been doing the talking while your instincts are telling you to scale back. Even though your income is stable, a feeling is telling you that if you buy in this range, you won’t have enough in emergency reserves. Those are your instincts talking, and you should listen. Partnering with Orange Key Realty will make it easier to go through this process and create the win-win purchase. You can’t go wrong buying slightly under your ability. Many financial advisors tell their clients to budget about 25 percent of their income for housing to position them to build those necessary reserves. You’ll still have your house and the funds to do other things with.
A conflict in goals
Many couples purchase homes with the idea that they will have a child, so stretching buying power makes sense. Remember that when trying to accomplish two big financial goals at the same time — buying a home and adding to your family — something has to give.
You can’t have it all — peace of mind, a large mortgage, and burgeoning expenses — all at the same time. Prioritize your goals. You must ask yourself the importance of the things you want in the future and what is most important to you now.
Orange Key Realty’s staff of sales and broker associates can be reached at either 863 Georges Road, Monmouth Junction (732-297-6969) serving Middlesex County, or 60 E. Main St., Freehold, (732-863-6969) serving Monmouth County, or www.orangekeyrealty.com.