3 Reasons To Buy A Smaller, More Affordable Home

As you get ready to shop for a house to buy, it can be easy to fall into the temptation of buying a house that is more than you can afford. Some people do this without realizing how much it costs to own a house, while others do this based on the income they expect to earn at some point in the future. Whatever your situation is, it is always better to buy a house you can afford right now at this time in your life, and here are three reasons for this.

Owning a house is expensive

At any given time, you will find a large variety of homes for sale. There are big and little ones for sale, and there are affordable ones and expensive ones. If this is the first house you are buying, you should understand that owning a house requires more than making monthly mortgage payments. You will have to pay property taxes too, along with homeowner's insurance, utility bills, and repair bills. All of these things add up quickly, and this is one of the main reasons it is so important to stick with buying a home that you can afford.

There are a variety of ways to determine how much you can afford, but a simple way is to multiply your annual income by three. For example, if you earn $50,000, you may be able to afford a house that is priced around $150,000 ($50,000 times 3).

Life is full of surprises

A second reason to avoid spending more on a house than you can afford is from the surprises life can throw at you. No one knows what will happen in the future, and if something bad happens, it will be easier for you to afford a lower monthly payment than a higher one. For example, if you get ill and cannot work for a while, you may suffer from some financial problems. Losing a job is another unexpected event that can happen that would make it hard to pay your bills.

You can always upgrade

The other thing to consider is that you can always upgrade in the future. If you buy a small, affordable house and have no problem paying your bills for the first couple years, you could always sell that house and buy a bigger one.

Buying a house is a big step and investment in life. If you would like to begin looking for a home you can afford, contact a real estate company, such as Stacy Sells, to find out more about houses for sale in your area.