Deciding to Buy

To Buy or Not to Buy, That is the Question

Many varying factors affect the decision to buy a home or continue renting. How long do you intend to stay in the home? At what rate are property values increasing? Are rental rates increasing? How much do you have saved to support homeownership?

These are just a few of the many questions you will need to ask yourself. We are here to provide you with data and information to help you make the right decision that works for you.

Here is a useful estimator tool provided by The New York Times. Input your information to analyze your situation.

The increase in property values depends largely on the neighborhood where you want buy. Historically, over the past 50 years, property values generally increased by 6%. Rental market rates have increased 5% in the past year. (These figures will help you in the above calculator.)

If you want to know the current property trends of a specific neighborhood, email me with the neighborhood name and major cross streets.

It’s time to define your goals, research your options and make a plan

Typically, the largest investment that people make in their lifetime, is buying a home. It creates our largest asset and often our largest debt. As such, it is understandable that the decision can be a very stressful. One way to elevate the stress is to make a plan.

1. Put down in writing to top three reason you want to purchase
2. Detail in writing attributes of your new home

   • Since this is your first home, it may not have everything your “Dream Home” would, but you can define what would be necessary to make the purchase worth it.
3. You will want to reexamine your finances.
   
   • Start to analyze how much you can afford right now. See our mortgage calculator to estimate manageable monthly payments.

Once your plan is outlined, you will have clearer direction to begin the process of purchasing a home. While the details of your journey to purchase a home may remain unclear, you now know your purpose and desired destination. Like any successful journey, you have to pick a place on the map first, then plan your route to get there.