If you plan to purchase South Lake Tahoe real estate this year, getting your financial wealth in to shape is necessary. This may come with a mental work out as well, seeing as these goals require changing your mindset when it comes to money. Check out these tips for getting prepared for buying South Lake Tahoe real estate in 2019.
- Get in the mental and financial habit of ditching an indulgence…or two. We always get in the habit of spending money on a variety of things that we eventually forget we could cut out. In order to save the ideal 20%, go through your monthly expenses and see what can be cut out. Are you paying $50 a month for a gym membership you never use? $100 on cable when you could spend about $30 on Netflix and Hulu? Any auto billings from Amazon on products you probably don’t need monthly? Everyone blames the $6 daily coffee habit, and while that does add up, there are definitely more costly monthly expenses that are automatic that we don’t even think about! Figure out where you can cut back temporarily and then take that money and put it aside for your down payment and/or use it to pay off debt.
- Paying off debt brings us to the next thing: Check your credit and clean it up. Find and fix any errors, figure out what needs to be paid down and work to get a higher score. A higher score gives you a better mortgage rate. Ask your South Lake Tahoe realtor which lender they recommend. They likely have a few trusted folks that can help you out in this department.
- Create a down payment savings account. Each week, set aside a specific amount of money and deposit that into this account. If you are serious about buying South Lake Tahoe real estate this year, it is important to save money each month.
- Pretend you are a home owner for a month or two. Even if you are renting. Chat with your South Lake Tahoe realtor about the monthly costs that come with homeownership. It isn’t just about your mortgage. There is also insurance, taxes and emergency repairs. If you are looking in an area that has HOA’s, find out the dues. Set aside this estimated amount of money and see if you still have the financial flexibility you need for your lifestyle. This will help you determine if you can financially afford home ownership as well as if you are ready.
Have more questions on how to prepare for buying homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe? I would be happy to help if you aren’t already working with a South Lake Tahoe realtor.
