At different points in our lives our needs for living spaces change. Once out of college most likely your career will determine where you need to be. Now all of us have different circumstances at this point, but for the most part you will be faced with the question should you get a starter house right now — or should you wait until you can afford your “forever house”? Lets look at the various pros and cons.
In many parts of the country, the real estate market seems to be rebounding, and in Nyack real estate market this is essentially the case., Nyack homebuyers may have to be competitive to snag a new house on the market and the resulting bidding war will drive real estate prices up.
As a first-time home buyer, you face the first of many tough decisions: Do you buy a starter home now or wait until you can afford your “forever” home? Opinions will vary about what constitutes a starter home. But as a general rule, a starter home is something you’d be happy living in for around five years even if you know you’ll outgrow it. A forever home, on the other hand, is one that you could potentially see yourself living in for the rest of your life, or at least the next 20 years. So will this home fulfill your comfort and financial requirements?
There are benefits to buying a starter home now rather than waiting for years to buy a forever home. First of all, interest rates are still pretty low even if the 3% days are behind us. Yes, they may drop next year or the year after that, but then again, they may rise even more. A low interest rate isn’t everything, but your rate will impact your monthly payment and how much you’ll pay in interest over the life of the loan.
Another consideration is the amount of homes on the market, which is relatively low right now. In a perfect world you want to buy a property that will appreciate so when you sell it a few years down the road you have equity to put into your forever home. We’ve seen that this isn’t always the case though, so research the rental market to know if you will be able to rent your home out if the the selling market goes soft.
Buying a smaller home that you can’t sell or rent out when you want to move is perhaps the biggest disadvantage of buying a starter home. Doing as much research as possible can help minimize this risk. Other downsides to starter homes include the costs and hassle associated with moving twice and the potential money you’ll spend making improvements to your starter home that you may or may not get back when you sell.
In the final analysis researching the area you want is essential, but you will also need to trust your instinct . You want to feel good about the home and area you choose to live. If you can picture yourself feeling good when you walk out of your home in the morning, and really look forward to returning at the end of the day and the numbers work go for it.
