Property for sale in Dane County, WI nine Things Buyers Will want to Know Prior to Shopping for a Home

Just one of the principal points individuals would be wise to bear in mind once they are wanting to make a decision on whether to buy or rent is the duration of time they are likely to be living in the home. Often generally, is 5 to 7 yrs. [That's the amount of time you should probably commit to live there] before purchasing a residence begins to make more sense financially than leasing, which is due to the way home loans are setup. You pay a lot of interest initially. In case you are just likely to be in a residence for a couple of years, it commonly is more efficient to rent as you don't start building equity until your 5th or seventh year. Something else is that if people are living in an apartment, they believe having a family home will be such an oasis. "Oh, I'll have my own place, no one on the other side of the walls." But the other side of that is upkeep and responsibility for taking care of the home, and often buyers do underestimate how much time and dollars that can be involved in that.

Property for sale in Dane County, WI
People talk a little about the 2.5-multiplier rule -- that you take your household's annual gross income and multiply it by 2.5 and that is normally, how much mortgage to suit your budget. So, say, if anyone generates $50,000, they ought to be looking in the $125,000 range. Why is that unrealistic?

Because there are other variables involved. It's a smart starting place, and frequently it does appear sensible for folks, but that equation presumes a ten percent down payment, and lots of folks don't have the ten percent to put down. Furthermore, there are the continuing expenses, from insurance to property taxes, which vary greatly depending on where you reside. As a result, the mortgage payment is just part of the equation, but it shouldn't be the one number that folks get stuck in their mind. For this reason it's wise to obtain pre-approval before going looking.

What does it mean to have pre-approval?

The pre-approval is simply an application process. You provide the bank the information concerning your financial situation so it has all the details but the specific house that you will be purchasing, and the lender says, "OK, we'd be prepared to lend you as much as that amount." That's a real number to work with.

There is certainly lots to take into consideration when you are selecting a new house: what style you are looking for, the condition, the neighborhood, the schools, etc. Do most first time buyers look at all those things?

I find folks have a tendency to get preoccupied with one side or the other. So, for example, someone may be definitely sure they need a inground pool or a fireplace, so they forget about all else that in the long run they often find more important. The reason I wrote the book is to get consumers thinking as broadly as possible of what they really want. You have to prioritize.
Property for sale in Dane County, WI
Property for sale in Dane County, WI