{"id":10342,"date":"2019-05-07T06:00:43","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canary.kcprod.info/blog\/?p=10342"},"modified":"2022-01-11T17:12:22","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T01:12:22","slug":"6-conversations-every-couple-absolutely-must-have-before-buying-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canary.kcprod.info/blog\/6-conversations-every-couple-absolutely-must-have-before-buying-a-home\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Conversations Every Couple Absolutely Must Have Before Buying a Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At this point, all of your hobbies have been replaced by a full-time obsession with scouring real estate websites. You now have densely organized lists of \u201cmust-have\u201d and \u201cnice-to-have\u201d features like open floor plans and built-in shelves and original floors. Whenever someone asks you where you\u2019re looking to maybe buy a place, you practically recite a TED Talk breaking down your top five neighborhoods. You\u2019ve sidelined other non-essential savings goals in favor of diligently funneling all extra cash into a high-yield cash account for your down payment<\/a>.
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You are beyond ready. This is it: You and your partner are going to buy a home.
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While buying a house<\/a> is obviously exciting, it\u2019s also one of the biggest financial decisions you\u2019ll ever make. And when you\u2019re buying a home with your partner, the process and the implications of buying a home will undoubtedly show what your relationship is really made of. With that in mind, while you\u2019re in the ecstatic throes of letting your nesting fantasies run wild (please don\u2019t let us stop you), make sure you and your partner are also <\/em>being duly diligent by collaboratively answering these six important questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. “Why do we want to buy a house now<\/em>?”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not talking about \u201cbecause everyone else is doing it.\u201d (Although honestly, who are we to tell you that being competitive with your peers isn\u2019t a totally valid motivator?) There are countless good reasons to want to buy a home, but the quality of your experience in this process will be greatly determined by how aligned you and your partner are on goals, priorities, and expected outcome. If one of you is looking at this as an investment and the other is just looking for a dreamy place to settle down until death do you part, you\u2019re going to be butting heads the whole time and risk turning an exciting time into a contentious one.
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Maybe you both want to buy a home because of the general belief that \u201crenting is throwing money away.\u201d That\u2019s often (but not always!) true. To analyze whether or not it\u2019s smart to buy in your city, you have to weigh a number of factors. Or rather, Wealthfront can help you weigh a number of factors using our home buying planning feature, which basically tells you everything you need to know to make a plan based on your <\/em>finances. We use current home prices through a Redfin integration to show you what it takes to buy a place in different markets, and if anything changes \u2014 your location, your financial circumstances, or the housing market \u2014 Wealthfront will automatically update the plan for your home buying goal.
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Wealthfront\u2019s free home planning feature has access to such expansive, real-time data that you don\u2019t really have to do much heavy lifting (or any lifting, to be honest) when it comes to watching the housing market. We can show you what\u2019s currently happening with home prices and what they\u2019re likely to do in the future. But still be mindful about circumstances in neighborhoods where you\u2019re possibly looking to buy, especially if you\u2019re aiming to invest in a home with potentially appreciating value. Are new developments rapidly popping up to keep up with growing demand or are there building regulations (maybe tied to preserving historical structures or natural land features) that prevent denser building, thus driving up demand for a limited number of properties? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Think about your future plans too. Since the short-term costs of home ownership are high, it\u2019s a good idea to hang onto a property for at least five years, both to cover the transaction costs associated with buying and selling and to allow your property\u2019s value to appreciate. If you know you\u2019re going to be bouncing from your current city in two years and aren\u2019t interested in continuing to own a home without living in it, you might be better off renting for now.
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Buying a home is one of those things it\u2019s easy to feel like you\u2019re just \u201csupposed to do\u201d at a certain point, so before you make any definite moves, it\u2019s just a good idea to know why <\/em>you\u2019re both interested in making this purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. “How much can we really<\/em> afford?”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not trying to start a fight, but you knew this was coming! You have to talk about budget. To be more specific, you have to agree <\/em>on a budget. Before getting too far in the process, it\u2019s essential to figure out your price ceiling. If you don\u2019t, you might end up with an endless series of battles over budget with your partner (a dark cloud over what should be a fun time in your relationship) or worse yet, you could end up with a house you can\u2019t afford, which will inevitably mean even more stress and fighting in the future.
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*Cracks knuckles* <\/em>This part of the game is exactly why <\/em>we built our free home planning feature. Want to see how much you can afford based on where you want to live and your current income? What about if you move or change jobs? What if you waited a few years? What if you save up and put down a bigger down payment? We can help you play with all the variables<\/a> that impact your home-buying budget. All the little details you would usually be left to juggle yourself \u2014 your income, net worth, credit score, and debt-to-income ratio \u2014 when figuring out how much you can afford and what kind of mortgage you\u2019re likely to qualify for? We\u2019ve got all of that covered, with the added context from data-driven housing market forecasts. Also, it\u2019s totally free, which is unlikely to be true about any other part of your home-buying journey.
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