Buying a house is a major life event. In fact, it may be one of the biggest things you’ll ever do, apart from getting married and having kids. After all, buying a house isn’t anything like buying a computer or even a car. The costs associated with real estate acquisition are enormous. With that kind of money at play, you don’t want to take any chances. You want to make sure you’ve done your homework and know what to look out for when buying a home. Don’t worry, we have you covered. Here’s everything you need to know before you take the plunge and buy that dream house you’ve always wanted.

Consider your finances

Are you absolutely, positively sure you can make it work financially? You have to think years ahead not just in the present moment. Don’t bank on any promotions or the fact that your business will take off. Instead, focus on what you’re working with at the moment. If you do find yourself with extra income down the road, even better, but that shouldn’t be a factor in play when buying a home.

Credit score

You don’t have to have amazing credit score to get a mortgage, but it would certainly help keep the interest rates down. In some cases, waiting and rebuilding your credit score before you make a purchase might actually save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Repairing your credit score takes mere months, but paying off a mortgage takes decades. To that extent, you should probably wait and fix your credit score if it’s really bad.

Residential area

Have you thought about where you want to live? Most people have a general idea of the area they want to live in, but very few actually do any research on it. Don’t just take the words of your family and friends, do some proper research. PeopleFinders is a great place to start. They conduct a public records search on everyone who used to live at that address and reports back to you. You can do this for a house you’re interested in on or for neighboring houses. It’ll paint a clearer image of who, and what, the people are like there.

Don’t try to time the market

It’s impossible to time the market, so don’t bother with it. There is no perfect time to buy a house. Do it when you can afford it and when you’ve found a house you actually like. The real estate market fluctuates non-stop, and if you’re waiting for the perfect moment you might end up waiting months or worse, someone might snatch the property from underneath you.

Conclusion

The main takeaway is to plan ahead and be prepared. Don’t rush into something you’re going to regret almost immediately or even years down the road. Buying a house is a big step, so treat it as such.