Buying your very first home is a grand step in life, and it’s perhaps one of the most financially-confusing and challenging tasks for an aspiring homeowner. There is no denying that the kenyan housing market is not cheap, and that if you are to buy a home in this economy while staying solvent and maintaining a positive credit score, you will need to plan and prepare your finances thoroughly.
Aside from scrutinizing every potential home down to the last stud and nail, and working on your negotiation skills to get the best price possible, you will need to consider other financing options that will allow you to buy a home befort 2020 is over. With that in mind, here are the key ways to planning your finances for this very purpose.
START BY CHECKING YOUR CREDIT SCORE
Every home-buying journey begins with a thorough examination of your credit. This comprehensive document will give you all of the information about your credit history and current standing.
By doing this you will not only find out what kind of loans and mortgages you will be able to obtain as it stands, but also what are the key factors that are affecting your credit score and how you can fix it. If you’re unsure how to obtain your credit report yourself, simply contact one of the credit bureaus. Do this as early as possible so that you can plan a home-buying strategy based on your credit status.
TEND TO CAREFUL BUDGETING
When planning to buy a home, it’s important that you define your ideal price range. Seeing as how your plan is to become a homeowner in 2020, it’s important that you prepare with next year’s market and financial projections in mind.
Instead of looking at the current state of the residential real estate market, focus on researching the predictions for the upcoming year from reputable websites and forums.
CREATE A DOWN PAYMENT PLAN
All of the aforementioned steps will help you make a sound down payment plan, and give you the insights you need to prepare for this expense efficiently, without putting a major dent in your budget. As you’ve researched the market and made detailed forecasts about your 2019 financial situation, you can now determine how much you need to save up to make that dreaded down payment.
You should also devise a plan on how to save up for this expense over the coming months. A sound plan of attack would be to determine the amount you need to set aside on a weekly or monthly basis in order to make this expense viable. The key here will be consistency, so make sure you make regular contributions on set dates towards this goal.
PREPARE FOR THE LIVING COSTS
The last piece of this financial puzzle is to take all living costs into account when researching possible homes. The location of the property will be able to tell you plenty about the average living costs in the area, but you also want to dig deeper and research the neighbourhood thoroughly.
Every penny counts, so make sure to include accurate calculations into your financial plan in order to create a comprehensive overview of your long-term finances.
Buying a home is one of the grandest steps in life, and as such, it requires thorough planning and preparation in order to yield the desired results. By following these steps, you will have paved the road to becoming a homeowner before the end of 2020.