Who Is Ready to Buy A House?

Spring is here which means people are starting to put their house on the market and/or people are starting to look at houses to buy. When I graduated college, I told myself I wanted to buy my first house by the age of 25. I turned 26 this year in February and I moved into my house last July - goal achieved! While I do miss just calling the maintenance guy when my garbage disposal stops working and not bugging my boyfriend about cutting the grass, I absolutely love being able to call something I live in MINE. Getting a house was pretty easy for my boyfriend and me (we bought the house together), although it can be difficult. Because of this, I’ve pointed out the top three things to work on so that it can be easy for you too (this is purely based off my experience)!

#1. That credit score means everything!

People say your credit score is a representation of you and let me tell you, it really is! My credit is something I’ve always made sure was good, but I wasn’t just buying a home alone. I used to harass my boyfriend on getting his credit score up (legit would even get into arguments about it) and then when we went to apply for a home, his credit score was almost as high as mine! Because of this, banks didn’t hesitate to work with us. Your credit score is basically the deciding factor on whether you’re capable of paying bills on time or not. Luckily if your credit score isn’t the highest, you can definitely increase it drastically and even within a year.

#2. Debt to income ratio means a lot too!

If you’re like me and didn’t get a scholarship for college, you know how much student loans can rack up (I got my Masters too). You can make all the money in the world, but if your debt to income ratio is higher than 50%, many banks will not approve you for a home mortgage loan.

#3. Find yourself a good realtor!

There are tons of realtors out there, but you have to find one that honestly works non-stop for you. My boyfriend and I bought a house when the market was HOT, so every decision had to be QUICK! Our realtor was on it and he is the reason why we were able to get the beautiful house we live in. He always made himself available!