There a few exciting moments in life and preparing for buying a first home is one of them. Being involved in the enthusiasm and still be able to process all information can be overwhelming, therefore, we are disclosing smart steps every future homeowner should follow to save money and efforts. Let's get into them!
1. Don't Overspend to Personalize
When trying to stay within a budget, money has to be tight for many first-time homebuyers. Especially after the down payment, the closing, and moving costs.
Understandably, all homeowners want to make upgrades to a new home, and some can be done, we are suggesting that massive spending to personalize all at once is not a smart choice. Start with small things such as paint or maybe kitchen cabinets. Take time to adjust and recover from all financial expenses just made in the purchase of a new property. Remember that there are monthly costs that are still pending like, home insurance, mortgage, maintenance fees, among others.
2. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance!
As you may know, homeowners' monthly expenses include repairs and home maintenance. While costs can be high they are essential to keep your property's quality, besides, it can become an unsafe environment if appliances or others are not repaired. Remember, delaying maintenance tasks can turn a small issue into a much more expensive one.
3. Hire Qualified People
One of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can do is hiring for a home repair an unqualified friend or family member just to "save" money. The rational way to save money is to invest in a qualified professional to do all repairs. Besides being dangerous, it can result in a bigger issue if the repair job isn't performed correctly, hence in a bigger and unplanned expense.
4. Ask Help to do Your Tax Return
Paying an accountant can seem like wasting money, although it is nothing more than the contrary. Hiring a professional can assure you complete the tax return, and maximizing your refund is always a good idea. Remember, homeownership changes tax returns and deductions you are eligible to claim. So in the end, this is a money saver.
5. Keep Receipts from Improvements
Saving all receipts from home upgrades will allow you to increase your home's value, therefore, you will be able to sell at a much higher price. Plus, it will help to maximize tax-free earnings.
6. Improvements? Think again
Not all home expenses are equal. The IRS considers repair to be homeownership's responsibility since it maintains the value of a property. If purchased foreclosure improvements or upgrades made by homeowners are not a way decreasing tax bills when selling the home. On another hand, changes like adding air conditioning or replacing the exteriors will.
7. Get Insurance
The lender will require you to get a solid amount of homeowners' insurance in case of an unwanted event and lose the property. There are many types of insurance, we recommend to do your research and don't doubt in enrolling in them, we sure do not want accidents to occur, but we recommend you to be prepared and avoid losing money or even your home.
There you have them! don't be cheap when spending money on your property since it is one of the biggest investments we do in life.