Buying a House in Your 20's

It's a pretty surreal experience to own a home in your 20's. It's something we've dreamed of for quite some time and it's finally here. We had always talked about owning a home but didn't think about it too seriously until last December. We went home to Sri Lanka for Christmas and knew that it would be a couple of years till we would be visiting next so that we could save up for a home. We wanted to share a couple of ways we were able to save up and buy a home within a year.

1. It's never too early to speak with a mortgage broker/adviser. We met with our mortgage broker almost a year before we actually purchased it. We wanted to understand the process and plan out how much we needed to cover the down payment and closing costs. He was so great to work with, guiding us through the process. We got pre-approved to see what price range of a home we could look at.

2. Set a plan in place for saving your money. I am blessed to be married to a financial adviser who does all the planning for us. Shameless plug, (not biased at all) he really is the best! So anyone who is looking for an adviser, holler at Rumma! We had a Mint account that helped us track our monthly expenses. We would go over it monthly and adjust how much we would spend on groceries, dining out, etc. Most importantly, since we did have a budget, it also let us know that it's OK to have a little fun every once in a while. Toward the end of the month, Rumma would sometimes let me know that we still have a little budget left in our date night fund so we could go out that weekend.

3. Another thing to note is your savings account. We were getting such a low rate of interest that it made absolutely no sense to have our money in that account. We picked out some investments and invested our money. Now, we were okay with taking the risk, so make sure you are comfortable with doing so and the timing of the purchase comes into play as well. Disclosure - make sure you consult with your financial adviser. By the end of the year, we were fortunate to have made a nice little chunk of money that helped us a lot!

4. Find a real estate broker. Now, this was probably the hardest part for us. I have worked with real estate brokers for years and have gotten so close to so many of them. We didn't know how to pick one, it just felt wrong having to select one over the other. Eventually, we picked one of our really close friends who have honestly become family to us. It's important to make your choice based on who you will be most comfortable with because you will be spending a lot of time looking at homes with them. I'm not sure how it works in other states but at least in Washington State, you don't have to pay a fee to your broker if you are on the buying side (the selling side does that), so don't settle! If you don't know any brokers, interview a few to see who you mesh well with the most. It's important that you feel comfortable asking them any questions.

5. Don't get set on one home. We looked at one home and fell in love! unfortunately, before our pre-approval process went through, it went pending. It was hard to focus on what's out there when we couldn't get out minds off of our "dream home" that was no longer available. We ended up looking at a home that was not even on the market and fell even more in love, bonus: it was less expensive than the other one!

6. Photos don't matter. The home that we ended up purchasing didn't present itself well through the pictures online. We almost ended up not wanting to go see it. Our broker convinced us that it was just the pictures. He was right! It's hard to picture yourself living somewhere when the photos don't transport you there instantly. Now, on the other hand, there are some homes that are staged beautifully and have incredible pictures but don't look good in person, believe me, we've seen those too! There's no harm in going to check it out, so be open and adventurous. You'll never know what you may find.

7. Get creative with your offer. We ended up paying a little higher price but we asked for a seller credit, which means that we are pretty much getting that amount back that we could use toward some of our closing costs, and we also ended up paying off the mortgage insurance. Which enabled us to lower our monthly payments... We wanted to keep some of our investments still in the account so that the ones that were doing extremely well could continue doing so.

8. Don't get broke buying a home. This goes along with a meeting with a financial adviser. You don't want to not have any money to do anything after purchasing your home or not being able to make repairs, purchase furniture or remodeling your kitchen.

It was a long process of saving, keeping to our goals, looking for our home and now, moving in but it was oh so worth it. We honestly can't believe it's here, the moment we have hoped and prayed for. It's here! We have a place to call our own. If you know us personally, you know how much we love to host. So come on over, for coffee, dinner, or even the weekend. Let us know if you have any questions, we have gone through the process and are happy to help in any way we can.

XOXO

RuRu