Are You Ready to Buy A Palm Harbor Home?

When you are house-hunting, very few Palm Harbor Realtors will ask if you are actually READY to buy a Palm Harbor home, fearing that they will lose a sale. We have found that if we tell you all the bits up front, we are SO much better able to help you find the best home for you or your family!

Buying a home is definitely a big step but it can be gratifying. Let’s look at some reasons to buy.

When you rent, you are living under someone else’s rules, not your own. Your landlord makes the decisions in your rental home. What color walls? They may say “only white”. May I have a pet? Maybe, if you pay extra. How much must I pay each month? Will my rent be raised?” Is the landlord going to sell the house & we will have to move?

Buying a home at a fixed rate mortgage (which we recommend) means stability! You will know what the payment will be and can plan for it. You will have a sense of pride and control over your life. You will have more privacy, (no one coming over to check and make sure you haven’t broken something, or violated the terms of the lease.)

Owning a home brings stability to your family & your community. Studies show higher graduation rates among children whose parents own their homes as well as more community involvement. Usually, you will even have more space to live in!

It is easier than ever to afford a home, and it is a buyer’s market in Florida. Are you ready to buy a Palm Harbor home? It depends on many factors. Ask yourself:

• Do I have an eight month emergency fund? Just having the down payment isn’t enough. An amount equal to 8 months of pay is essential to have in reserve for paying regular bills in an emergency. If your monthly expenses are $3,000 a month, you should have $24,000 in an emergency fund that you absolutely do not use unless it really is an emergency like being out of work or injured.
• Is my job secure and steady? Do you have marketable skills that will garner you steady employment if you lose your current job?
• Do I have good credit? Lending is still tight although interest rates are low. Good credit is a must at this time to get the best rates. Bad credit may mean you can not get a loan or at least not a good rate. (we have some great contacts in the mortgage industry who can help if you need to work on your credit score and most charge absolutely nothing for this service!)
• Can I pay 20 percent for a down payment? If not, start saving now! Financial experts recommend a 20 percent down payment. That means on a $150,000 house you’ll need $30,000 for a down payment. (now there are still programs like FHA and VA loans that can reduce the need for such a high down payment amount, but we do recommend that you have savings to pay something down, closing costs and all those incidentals that pop up when you buy a home!)

A couple of other things that we recommend when considering buying a Palm Harbor home are to have a list of must-haves and would-like to haves (no house is ever PERFECT, but we can get you darn close if you know what is important to you!). A pre-qualification letter from your bank (an good agent will ask for this so might as well get it out of the way up front). A good attitude (this is a biggie! I KNOW, it is a buyers market, but few sellers, including banks, will sell you a property for two cents on the dollar so it is best to know that you can get a great house or a rock bottom deal, but probably not both!)

Now you should be able to determine if you are ready to buy a home. Look at all the issues involved before making a decision. Remember, now is a great time to buy a house in Palm Harbor!! If you would like to find out more about the ins and outs of the Palm Harbor real estate market, give us a call today! 727-366-0324

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