When Are You Truly Ready To Purchase A Home?

Now that the economy appears to be rebounding into a much more stable position, it might be the time to start thinking about buying the dream home ownership. Before that, you need to see whether the time is right or not — Here are few indications that might mean you are ready to buy a house:

• No more debt: You have killed the outstanding credit card and car payment debt so you don’t have those extra bills that diminish the funds you have available to pay for a mortgage, such as property tax, homeowners’ insurance, repairs and maintenance and furnishings.
• Higher credit score: After getting that debt paid off and diligently watching your credit report, you’ve finally been able to increase your credit score to get a more ideal interest rate.
• A steady job: While any job always comes with uncertainties, the longer you have a position or the more years as a business owner you have under your belt.
• A rise in income: You never want to put more than 30 percent of your monthly income toward a mortgage payment. However, you can put as much as 50 percent toward the mortgage payment, if you know exactly how to live lean until you get a healthy raise.
• A solid savings and emergency fund: There’s always the unexpected with a house and generally something unexpected will always come up in life, too. You don’t want to have to rely on a monthly income to cover those unexpected costs
• Long-term living: Buying a house is a huge investment so you want to make sure you don’t plan on moving in the next few years. While you don’t have to decide to stay firmly planted for that long, it is important to stay put for at least five to ten years in order to not lose on this investment.