[Jorge]

I’m buying my first home. I’m single, no kids. On my one income. I have about $60k saved and no consumer nor student loans nor car debt. I’m approved for up to $600k. Any advice?

I come from a poor family and have absolutely no experience here. Fish out of water.

[Kim]

If I was single with no kids, I would find other forms of shelter versus paying full rent or buying a home right now in this market and interest rates. Parents, relatives, good friends, roommates, etc.

I would keep working on increasing my income, cash flows, and savings/investments in the meantime. Paytience without procrastination and strategy without complacency.

No need to rush or FOMO, but keep your eyes open for rare opportunities that present themselves.

Good luck!

[Tze]

Don’t borrow all $600k. If you can.

Don’t buy townhouse or units or apartments that comes with high body corporate fees. Don’t buy somewhere already overpriced. Read council 5-10 years plans, or 20 years plan on the area you want to buy, to check a potential grow in infrastructures, population, demography etc.

Don’t miss: My family will be hurt by this decision but it’s time to sell the family home

[Nidia]

Just because you are approved for 600k doesn’t mean you should get a house worth 600k. Also you need to consider your interest rate. I’ve heard they are pretty high these days.

Since you are single I’d definitely look for a modest house that you can possibly rent later on or even maybe a duplex and live on one side.

[Tze]

Don’t forget to buy property insurance. Also, save money in a separate bucket for home maintenance, property tax.

[Ernest]

Just bought my first house in a similar situation. My number one piece if advice is to never, under any circumstances, underestimate the hidden costs related to owning a home.

Whatever you think is enough money? Double it.

[Dena]

Consider house hacking. Wish I had when I was in your situation. Buy a multi family and let tenants rent cover all or most of the mortgage.

Explore these too: How long should I save for a home if not going to purchase in 3-5 years?

[Aureliana]

Don’t buy anywhere close to that approval number. There’s property taxes and insurance that can always go up and it does. Sometimes substantially so. Make sure you have lots of wiggle room. So run the numbers at around half of what your approved for then it’s just going to depend on where you are buying.

[Don]

Buy a $250k house NOT a $600k

[Trevis]

Do not fall for the trap of how much they approve you for. “They” intend for you to work until 70. Decide how much you want to pay and work from there.

[Fatima]

Get a Quadplex!! Do not buy a big home for your first home! Get a Quadplex, rent out the other 3 units, then, in a year buy your next property. Don’t take on 600k of debt just to have a roof over your head.

Don’t forget to take a look at: My dream is to buy my first home

[Loladè]

I would recommend buying a home that you can covert into a duplex where you can rent out one level and charge rent at a rate that will cover your mortgage. Alternatively, you can also buy a multi-unit and live in one, while renting out the others. You then can work towards quickly paying off your mortgage by making double payments per month if you can afford it.

Once you build enough equity in either of the properties, pull the equity and buy another property and do it all over again. Pretty soon you’ll have multiple streams of fairly passive income and build your net worth.

[Allison]

You’re missing the important pieces of info:
How old are you?
What’s your yearly income?
What’s your savings rate towards retirement and investments?

[Niharika]

What’s your alternate rent? Look at rent vs buy calculators. Look at historical property costs for the area you’re looking to buy in. Use the down years as your guide. Setup redfin alerts and start learning about the properties in the area you’re searching in. Get educated about the period and cons like maintained costs, what to look for in a house. Find referrals for good agents as they can really watch out for you.

Costs are low right now with high interest rates but interest rates will go down and you can refinance. If you can stomach the higher interest for the next few years, it’s a good time to get into re.

[Author]

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