“You Go Girl”…. Single Female Buyers are on the rise!
Single women aren’t waiting to find a mate before they take the plunge into homeownership. Single females across the country make up 16 percent of home buying purchases. The 2nd largest home buying group, the largest being Married Couples.
By educating and empowering themselves, single women are acquiring a sense of home-buying confidence. They are making their dream of home ownership a reality. This process doesn’t necessarily begin with love first…unless it’s for her dream home. All she needs is a good real estate agent, an educated understanding of navigating the home-buying process, and a glass of champagne to celebrate after signing on the 50,000 dotted lines at closing!
When buying as a single female, there is a lot to consider. We’ve compiled a list of tips to help make smart decisions when buying a home.
Safety FIRST
Whether you’ll be living with a pet, or possibly a single mom, buying in a low-crime area should be your TOP Priority. The time to investigate is before you sign.
Are you prepared for a long-term purchase?
Hopefully property values will continue to rise. So when your agent assures you that six years down the road you can sell and recoup your money because you bought in an area with a high resale value, they just might be right. Are you prepared to settle in for the long haul? This means buying a home you can live in long term in an area with great potential. Educate yourself on rental restrictions in case your dream house turns into a rental one day. Be prepared and always have a back-up plan.
Budget Savvy
As a one-person income household, you have to make decisions based on your budget. You don’t have another person to fall back on. Choosing the smaller house in the right location or the condo instead of the single family home might be the better option. Staying within your budget also sets you up for unforeseen or unexpected life or financial changes.
Meet with a Mortgage Broker/Lender before previewing homes
Before you step foot in your real estate agent’s car. Sit down with a mortgage broker to discuss making the most of your one-person income. Have them go over any glitches on your credit report and exactly what you qualify for based on what you can afford each month with all the associated costs. Be sure to leave with a pre-approval letter in hand; this piece of paper empowers you as a competitive single female home buyer!
Property Upkeep
Even in this day and age of DIY, you still want to take into consideration how much maintenance and repair work the property will take, as well as the limitations of your handy woman work.
Suppose you fall in love with an old charming house that has outdated plumbing and electric? Who is going to fix the leaking faucet and light switch after you’ve moved in? The same applies to yard work and landscape. Unless you like to mow grass and have experience with electrical or plumbing, be prepared to factor in a monthly lawn maintenance co. and a handyman expense. Other considerations might be a townhome, condo or newly renovated home, which require virtually no maintenance.
The only thing certain in life is change…
You are a solo buyer now, what if you find a partner and start thinking about a family? If your budget allows, consider additional bedrooms, more square footage, and even a bigger yard to account for growth.
Ladies, never skimp on the home inspection!
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not having your own inspection. Or hiring the cheapest person in the business. You want to hire the most qualified professional for the job, and that might mean paying more for it. Make sure that your inspector provide photographs, a detailed report highlighting a summary of safety and health issues and walk through the property, physically identifying all the findings on the report. Ask questions, lots of questions. Our philosophy at Building Sciences Home Inspections is to take time with each buyer and make sure they know exactly what they are purchasing. We offer an onsite consultation with each buyer to answer all questions and concerns and in most cases we send out the report the same day.
Charlotte, NC Mortgage Brokers – Better Business Bureau
Additional blogs about Single Women Home Buyers tip and trends