The Three-Legged Stool
Let’s talk about your non-negotiables.
For most first-time home buyers, the list of must-haves is loooooooooooong, which pretty quickly leads to overwhelm, frustration, and disappointment.
Instead of getting overly granular from the get-go, it’s way more helpful to think about this home-buying thing as a stool with three legs:
Price. Obviously, purchase price is a big deal. But also think about how that translates into a monthly mortgage payment—which may include property taxes, property insurance, and mortgage insurance. Smart-about-money people recommend limiting your mortgage payment to 28% of your gross income and 36% of your total debt.
Location. Next, think about where you want to land. Heart of the city? Suburb? Farther out?
Condition. Finally, get honest about wants vs. needs when it comes to things like flooring, ensuite bathrooms, garage space, and so on. Also, if you’re channeling your inner Chip and Joanna Gaines, take a step back. Do you really have what it takes to take on a rehab? The skills? The time? The mental and intestinal fortitude? If so, GO YOU. If not? That’s OK, too! We’ll just need to be on the hunt for less intense DIY options.
For most first-time home buyers, price is really the only truly non-negotiable on the table. Beyond that, only you can decide which leg of the stool is most important.
Would you rather have a place in LoHi that’ll need some TLC over time? Or would you rather have the move-in-ready home out in Golden? How many hoorays on the location leg of the stool would it take to make up for some ughs on the condition leg?
If you just whisper-screamed, “I.don’t.know.stop.asking.me.so.many.questions.” we get it. These are big decisions, and we’ve helped hundreds of newbies just like you make them. We’d love to help you, too.
