The 2 Biggest Obstacles To Buying Your Own Home
First off, let’s dispel a commonly held fallacy. Rent is not dead money. It’s a necessary expenditure and, let’s face it, keeping a roof over your head is rarely a bad investment. It can keep you free when your career is in a state of flux, it prevents you from having to remain in a city or town where you’re not happy any longer than you have to and there’s a comfort in knowing that if something goes wrong, you don’t have the responsibility of paying to fix it. Nonetheless, renting definitely has a downside too. As property gets harder and harder for all but the wealthiest to afford, the price of the private rental market rises as standards drop. Renters are getting less and less for their money with rental prices rising way above the realms of ordinary inflation. This is leading to an increasing frustration, particularly among millennials, that home ownership is becoming an increasingly elusive pipe dream.
Yet, while it may be harder for younger people than for previous generations, owning apartments for sale Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or any number of desirable locales needn’t be a pipedream. It can be a reality… Yes, even for you. But you first need to remove these obstacles from your path…
Your poor credit rating
If you’re still trying to outrun a lifetime’s worth of debts, these can loom heavily over your mortgage application. Your credit rating can torpedo your mortgage application even if you have a sizeable down payment saved up. It’s infuriating, but not insurmountable. The first step is understanding how your credit score is determined. No matter what country you live in, it’s typically a combination of the following factors:
- The types of credit you have outstanding
- Your credit history
- The amount you want to borrow
- Your total debt
- Your payment history
Of all of these the last 2 are the biggest deciding factors. If you’re juggling multiple debts it may be worth consolidating them with a consolidation loan. Not only will the debt be easier to manage and repay, you’ll also benefit from an improved credit score.
Your lack of a down payment
This is certainly a tricky one, especially for those at the start of their career and those who live alone. Rent is taking up a far greater proportion of people’s income than ever before, making it harder to save the big bucks necessary to secure even a modest property. While this is certainly an impediment, it is far from insurmountable. There are some for whom moving in with parents while they save is simply not an option, nor are they able to let out their spare room because they live in an exorbitantly priced studio apartment. Nonetheless, there are still some ways in which you can increase your chances of saving.
- Get a better savings account. The average high street savings account yields just 0.06% APY. You can get a much better deal online.
- Supplement your savings by investing in stock markets, crypto currencies and Forex. While there may be an element of risk, there’s a much better chance of growing your money.
- Find out about government assistance that may be available to you.
Overcoming these obstacles may take time and patience… But it can be done!
