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Video Four
What if I'm Not Ready to Buy a Home Yet?

In this video, we talk with someone who isn’t quite ready to buy her fist home but recognizes that there are ways to better prepare herself when she is ready. We also provide tips on how to financially and emotionally prepare yourself to buy your first home in the future.

 

KRISTIE: Hi everyone, I’m Kristie Forsman with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty and you’re watching our video series all about buying your first home. So previ

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In this video, we talk with someone who isn’t quite ready to buy her fist home but recognizes that there are ways to better prepare herself when she is ready. We also provide tips on how to financially and emotionally prepare yourself to buy your first home in the future.

 

KRISTIE: Hi everyone, I’m Kristie Forsman with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Preferred Realty and you’re watching our video series all about buying your first home. So previously on our show we really dove into how you can go about buying your first home. But today, we’re actually going to take things a few steps back and we’re going to talk to those of you who know you want to be a homeowner eventually.  It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but, it’s never too early to start preparing. And with me today, I have someone who’s doing just that; please welcome Kelsey Smith to our show.

KELSEY: Hi.

KRISTIE: Hey Kelsey, thanks for coming on.

KELSEY: Thanks for having me.

KRISTIE: Of course. So, Kelsey, can you tell us a little bit about your current situation?

KELSEY: Yeah, I graduated from college about a year ago, started my first big girl job

KRISTIE: Congrats!

KELSEY: Thank you. So, I’ve been working at my job for about a year now… living at home. Thinking that it’s time to leave the nest. It’s time…

KRISTIE: Bye, parents!

KELSEY: Yes, it is time to go.  So, I’ve really just spending this year thinking to myself, do I want to rent or do I want to buy and I’ve actually come up with fact that I would like to buy right now.

KELSEY: With mortgage rates so low and interest rates so low… it seems like the perfect time to take that step and kind of cancel out that renting part. So I’ve been looking and trying to buy a home.

KRISTIE: Awesome. Kelsey, I have to admit that you did something I truly admire and something that a lot of first time homebuyers would never even think of doing and that is meeting with a financial advisor.

KELSEY: Yeah, I met with a financial advisor probably a month or two after I got my job. I needed some advice on what to do with that new source of income I had coming in.

KELSEY: I really just needed to know where to put it and help budgeting it out. Because I didn’t have any prior knowledge to such.

KRISTIE: Yeah.

KELSEY: So, he actually helped me come up with a timeline and a plan. Our plan is a 50/30/20 rule. Which a lot of people actually know of.

KELSEY: I never knew of this but, 50% of my income goes to my bills, 30% of my income is for me… it’s for my daily expenses.

KRISTIE: Your fun money.

KELSEY: My fun money. You know, for when I go out and everything.

KRISTIE: Yeah.      

KELSEY: And then 20% of that goes straight into my savings to help build that up.

KRISTIE: Okay.

KELSEY: Yeah, and he helped me come up with a timeline… of when I can really start to consider purchasing a home and making those steps forward. And we actually said a year from now. And the reason why he said this is many mortgage lenders actually require you to be at your job for 2 years.

KRISTIE: Oh, okay.

KESLEY: Before you’re a candidate for approval.

KRISTIE: Yeah.

KELSEY: So I’ve been there for a year, so that’s where we got the whole one more year of savings.

KRISTIE: Oh, that’s great. So, you were also telling me before the show that you downloaded some really cool apps.

KELSEY: I did, he… he showed me awesome apps in the store. There’s tons of budgeting apps out there. I kind of fell in love with this one called Fudge It.

KRISTIE: Oh.

KESLEY: Yeah. Really weird name but it’s actually, it’s been my lifesaver lately.

KRISTIE: Very cool.

KELSEY: It just shows you what money you have coming in and where you’re putting it. It helps to keep you on track. It keeps everything right there in front of you. Because everyone knows if you look at your banking statements, sometimes it’s kind of overwhelming. It’s all these plus and minuses and some things haven’t hit yet, but with this app as soon as I spend it, I put it in. It shows me what I have left. It’s just really keeps me on track.

KRISTIE: Simplifies the process.

KELSEY: Yeah. It’s kind of like having a parent in your phone.

KRISTIE: Nice. So Kelsey, your financial advisor also took a look at your credit score. I know it’s so scary.

KELSEY: It was terrifying… I was so scared. I had never checked it before. And we checked it and actually found out that: I don’t have bad credit but I don’t have good credit either. I don’t have enough credit. I never knew that was possible. I kind of thought it was good or bad. But it’s not. I don’t have enough because I haven’t really had credit cards. I just started now getting bills.

KRISTIE: So, what did your financial advisor advise that you do to build your credit?

KELSEY: He told me to actually go get a credit card.

KRISTIE: Oh, nice.

KESLEY: Yeah, which is kind of in my head, I’m like, “Yay.” But he gave me the advice of getting a credit card, like a Target Card or another card just for one place. Go there and spend it for what you need but then instantly pay that off. Don’t hold on to that debt. And just, for over the next year, that’ll help build that up for me.

KRISTIE: Oh, that’s great. So I was actually in an opposite situation from Kelsey. I did have some credit cards in college and I wasn’t the most responsible with them. So I had to take some time and really improve my credit by paying off my debt. And also making sure that I made payments on time. You know, every situation is going to be different, so that’s why it’s really key to meet with a financial advisor and figure out what works for you.

KELSEY: Yeah, he was helpful.

KRISTIE: That’s great. It sounds like you’re really on top of your finances and you’re going to be set when you are ready.

KELSEY: Yeah.

KRISTIE: Absolutely. So have you started looking for houses yet?

KELSEY: I haven’t been looking necessarily for homes specifically. I’ve actually been just trying to narrow it down to my areas. Figure out where I want to be. You know, I’m still fresh out of college and I love that social scene and the idea of like, living in the city. So, you know, something down in Lawrenceville sounds amazing. Then reality sets in and I think to myself, maybe I’d be more comfortable in a two-story in the North Hills area with a back yard for my dog and a garage attached to my house. Something like that. So, before I jump into meeting with a real estate agent and really deciding what I want to do. Figuring out where I want to be seems really essential to me. Figuring out what I can afford because I’m a more bang-for-your-buck kind of gal. I want something that I’m getting money wise.

KRISTIE: That’s so smart, because I think a lot of times people are so excited to buy their home. Their first home especially and they just go out of the gun and they say, “Hey, I’m going to look here, and here, and here.” So, it’s great that you’re taking this time now and you’re really focused on the areas that you want to potentially buy in, so that’s wonderful. So Kelsey, what piece of advice would you give first time homebuyers?

KELSEY: I’d probably have to say that it’s never too early to start preparing for this process. Whether you think you’re fresh out of college and you’re still really young, and it’s not time. It is time. Because whenever you start looking for houses and start that journey, having that weight lifted off your shoulders knowing that your credit score is intact and you have money saved away for this process, it’ll feel so great and you’ll feel prepared.

KRISTIE: Absolutely.

KRISTIE: It’s never too early to start preparing to buy your first home. Thank you so much for being on the show today Kelsey.

KELSEY: Thanks for having me.

KRISTIE: Of course. And thank you guys for watching. If you’re thinking about buying your first home and it’s not in the immediate future… just know that there a lot of things that you could be doing right now to make the process easier when you are ready to buy. And if you have any questions or you want more information about anything we’ve covered in this video series, you can get that by visiting our website at thepreferredrealty.com or contacting any one of our local real estate agents. They’d love to help you out. Alright, thanks again and we hope to talk to you soon. 

 

 

 



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