Couples' Guide | Buying a Home Together
3 Pieces of Advice for Newlyweds Buying a Home Together After the Wedding
It can be difficult for couples to balance all necessary expenses along with coughing up thousands of dollars in order to pull off their dream wedding. Then, consider the challenge that is honoring a budget beyond the wedding for major upcoming milestones, especially when it comes to buying a home. Need help with your transition from a wedding budget to a home-buying budget as you take on the world as a newly married couple? Here are a few places to start:
Complete a post-wedding balance sheet
You’re not alone if your savings account took a hit throughout the wedding process between wedding photography, catering, and venues. Luckily, chances are that you received some monetary gifts and household appliances as wedding gifts that can relieve some of the financial stress and come in handy when purchasing your first home as a couple. Shortly after the honeymoon, go through you and your spouse’s finances to discover how much money you have available for things like down payments, real estate agent expenses, and closing costs. You can then gauge how much you have left to save up and find ways to save.
Get preapproved for a loan
The majority of first-time home buyers take advantage of a home loan, or mortgage, to acquire their first home after the wedding. When you consider the fact that house hunting can be competitive, cutthroat, and time sensitive, getting preapproved for a mortgage becomes that much more vital to a successful transaction. Getting preapproved can not only give you an advantage over other buyers in a bidding war, but it can also save you tons of time when you find the perfect home. Before jumping into the house hunt, learn more about how to get a mortgage preapproval to make for a smooth experience.
Have the tough conversations ahead of time
Buying a home comes with a laundry list of microdecisions, ranging from what kind of house you want to where you want to live to what color to paint the living room. When house details are settled, think big picture – how much do we have saved? Who will pay for what? Are we in good financial health or is it time to look into a second income? Having these conversations with your partner prior to your house hunt will prevent some of these disagreements or discussions from interrupting your house hunt.
Looking for more guidance on all things wedding, before, during, and after? Visit our blog! I also have realtor referrals I’m happy to send if you need some!