4 Tips for Couples Buying Their First Home Together
Here are four tips for couples to remember as they embark on their home-buying journey.
Purchasing your first home as a couple is exciting and exhilarating, but it also comes with plenty of required preparation.
Before you even begin searching for your first home, you’ll want to formulate a clear strategy that starts with having plenty of conversations and deep discussions. Taking this extra step well ahead of time will help you develop a strong game plan for buying your first home and all the process entails.
To start making your strategy for buying your first home, you’ll both want to consider these four tips.
#1. Have the Hard (Financial) Talks Well Ahead of Time
When purchasing your first home as a couple, you need to view your financial standing as a singular unit.
When pursuing a joint mortgage to purchase a home, remember that both of your individual credit scores will impact the terms of the loan. In addition to both credit scores, lenders will review you and your partner’s combined income and debt-to-income ratio.
If one partner has poor credit, you may consider the other partner with a stronger score securing the mortgage loan. This comes with additional discussions that must be had around shared responsibility for payments, terms that will protect the borrower, and more.
This is just one example of tough, but necessary, financial discussions to have before purchasing a home together.
Other discussions that must be had well before beginning the buying process include:
- An income-based budget that fits your lifestyle together
- How much home you can afford
- Savings goals for the short and long term
- Potential financial flexibility
- Backup plans in case of emergency
Getting comfortable with your financial standing as a couple will help empower you both with a realistic path forward for your home-buying journey.
#2. Agree on Your Non-Negotiables
Long before you begin your home-buying search as a couple, you’ll want to create a strategy around the type of home you both want to buy.
A great way to lay the foundation for your home-buying strategy is to agree on your non-negotiables. Be honest in discussing your expectations: if one partner wants to live closer to family, while the other dreams of living in a new state, both of you need to drill down the pros and cons of each. Then, align it back to your financial discussions as you prepare to begin your home search.
Having these discussions before even starting the hunt for a home helps both of you understand each other’s expectations and goals and reach a compromise long before disappointments can come into play.
#3. Discuss Shared and Separate Responsibilities
Before the buying search begins, it’s important that you both discuss, determine, and align on the responsibilities you two will take on.
The home-buying process includes plenty of steps: from finding a trusted real estate agent, working with the agent regularly, identifying a preferred mortgage lender, and beyond, teamwork will help make the first home-buying dream work.
Dividing and conquering with regular, clear communication and check-ins with one another is key to helping the home-buying process go smoothly. You’re both first-timers to this, so remember you’re a team — and act accordingly.
Maybe one partner is more hands-on with relaying both of your needs to your agent, while the other partner is happy to dive deep into the intricacies of your mortgage and other requirements. One half of the couple might prefer to plan the move, while the other is excited to work with the agent to plan negotiations and offers.
Line up your individual strengths, weaknesses, and interests in the home buying process to help you share the responsibilities of securing your first home.
#4. Match Up with the Perfect Agent
Last, but certainly not least, the best thing a couple that’s buying their first home together can do is find a trusted professional real estate agent in their market.
A top real estate agent can take a lot of stress off your plate and allow you both to enjoy the home shopping and buying process, helping to make it a pleasant and memorable experience rather than one that tests your bond.
Matching up with the perfect agent for your needs and home-buying goals helps take your first home-purchasing strategy from a list of ideas to an actual action plan. Your agent can also help you consider other factors you may have never thought of or asked one another, and help you navigate these as they arise.
To make buying your first home seamless and get help along every step of the journey, connect with top real estate agents in your local area on RealEstateAgents.com now!
