Should You Purchase a Home After Retirement?

Most people make some major changes to their lifestyle after retiring. Some retirees spent years living in a community they hated and want to move away. They may want to consider buying a home, but aren’t sure whether they can afford to do so while they are no longer working. However, it may still be possible to purchase a home.
What to Consider Before Buying a House in Your Golden Years

You will want to make sure that you make an informed decision. There are a number of things that you will need to consider before buying a home during retirement:

Understand Your Budget

Most retirees are living on a tighter budget after they retire. You will need to know how much money you have on hand to spend when looking at homes for sale in Atlanta Georgia.

Cost of Renting Versus Buying

Many people rent houses after retiring because they believe that is all they can afford. There is nothing wrong with being thrifty, but you will need to know what the actual costs are before making a decision. Trulia conducted a study which found that it is actually cheaper to buy a house in the 100 largest cities in the country. That study also found that the savings are at least 40% in 85% of these cities.

Interest Rates

Interest rates are another important factor to take into consideration. The banks have offered record low interest rates, which mean this may be a perfect time to buy. Some people are still worried that they may not be able to secure a mortgage in the future, because the Federal Reserve has said that it may taper its stimulus plan. However, the stimulus will probably run in the foreseeable future. Mortgage rates have actually continued to drop as the Fed announced that it will continue its monetary easing policies.

Stability of Income

You will also need to consider how stable your income is before deciding whether to buy or rent. Buying a house is a long-term commitment. You may need to think twice if you think your income will drop in the future. This may be a problem if you have a temporary structured settlement or other windfall that won’t last forever. You will also need to consider it if you are going to be working part-time after retiring from your main job, because you probably won’t work forever. You definitely don’t want to use up your entire savings trying to pay for a new house if you won’t have much income in the future.

Ability to Get a Down Payment

You will also need to have a down payment to buy your house. You may not have a lot of money on hand. However, you may be able to borrow money from your 401K to use. According to Ben Barzideh, a financial wealth consultant, you can borrow up to $50,000 or half the value of your portfolio. This could be a great way to come up with a down payment for your new house.

About the author: Kalen writes about real estate financing and investing. He hopes to invest in some rental properties later this year.

How Much Home Can I Afford?

Obviously, everyone wants to own a home, and this can be easier as long as there is sufficient money to buy a new one. However, there are many ways and options to consider in buying and owning a home. The first thing that comes in mind when planning to buy a home is the amount of the house. If you are thinking of getting a home loan, then you should first determine how much you can afford for the home loan.

There are several factors to consider in getting a home loan since the payments can be on par. This makes sense in considering your current financial situation before deciding to buy a house. Likewise, you should also take into account your income, the credit history, debts and the cost of the house. In this way you can easily determine how much home you can afford to loan. Before making your final decision, it is important to consider some pointers.

Down Payment

One of the important pointers to consider in determining the amount of home that you can afford to buy is the down payment. Usually, home loan would require paying 20% down payment from the total house cost. However, you can also opt for non-standard loans that require lower amount of down payment. The downside of getting non-standard loan is the higher interest rates. This makes sense of asking for calculations before making your decision.

Income and Monthly Obligations

In determining how much home you can afford, you need to consider the monthly income and obligations. The mortgage company would require you to furnish the income details as well as the monthly obligations. These details will help the company in identifying the mortgage amount in which you can qualify. In calculating your loan capability, the mortgage company will check your credit card debts.

Interest Rate

Another factor to consider in determining the amount of home that you can afford to buy is the interest rate. Obviously, if the interest rate is lower, most likely you can afford buying bigger house. That is why home buyers should be aware about the prevailing interest rates in the area. It is also necessary to ask for quotes from different mortgage companies. In this way, you can compare which mortgage company can give you the best deals. In addition, you should also consider fixed rate mortgage than a variable rate mortgage. It is because the latter would impact your monthly obligations.

Location

The cost of the property that you want to buy also depends on the location. If you want to own a home in a commercialized area, then you should expect for higher cost. You need to conduct thorough research if you want to find a property located in your chosen area yet with the price that you can afford. Usually, if the property is of close proximity to the city it would be more expensive.

Indeed, it is very challenging to find affordable property. Nevertheless, St. Louis real estate can help you in finding the home that you can afford. If you cannot afford to buy a home, there are other options to consider. All you have to do is to seek advice from mortgage companies.

4 Simple Ways to Secure A Mortgage Loan Despite a Bad Credit History

It is very rare for people to always be granted loans. Even those with average credit are still getting denied by banks and other lending institutions. One might even say that it is part of the experiences of growing up. Money doesn’t grow on trees as they say. Why should it be handed out to you that easily?

For those whose names have been marred with a history of bad credit, however, the implications of the rejection are far more severe. Given that they already have a red flag waving over their profiles, the big concern is that they may not get the money they need. The good news is that they can still get a loan despite that bad financial record. They can still show the lenders that they deserve a second chance.

In order to secure a loan, the first thing you should do is to secure all required documents. This is the most basic thing you have to accomplish. Don’t even think about covering up the facts by lying. The lenders will be running a background check on you anyway. If you lie and get caught, then you certainly won’t get that loan approval. Lenders build their business on trust. If they can’t trust you, they wouldn’t want to do business with you. It’s as simple as that.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. Let’s say, for example, you would like to take out a mortgage. However, you’re worried that your application will be shot down on account of your credit history. Here are some more tips that you can use to get that loan despite having bad credit.

1. Be informed about your credit rating – Some people automatically assume that they have a less than ideal credit score. It can be because they previously had a bad experience, or they’re just not sure if their profile fits the kind of loan they are eyeing. However, the truth is that there is a cap as to what is likely to be a bad credit rating.

If you have a score of 620, then that is incontestably a bad rating. If, however, you get something just a little above 620, that’s a little bit more manageable. It’s still not in the safe zone, but at least it’s not so bad as to keep you from actually taking out a mortgage. That is why it is important for you to get your credit report. Knowing just how much you owe should give you a credible strategy for taking out a mortgage loan with a bad credit history. Aside from that, it should also “alert buyers to any credit errors that should be remedied before making any application for a pre-approval or mortgage application.”

2. Don’t dwell on the bad, highlight the good – What this simply means is that you should focus on your other assets. Of course, it’s not to say that you should cover up your bad history with credit. As mentioned above, that’s just going to work against you. Instead, you can put front and center other financial assets. It can be an impressive insurance account, or even a retirement package. While you may not necessarily be liquid at this point, at least there are things for you to look forward to.

3. Show good faith by offering a large down payment - The other thing you must do to secure a loan with bad credit is to project the image that you are in this deal for the long haul. While it may seem like giving out a large sum for down payment is counter-intuitive, it will definitely show the lenders you are invested in the property.

By paying a larger sum upfront, it also puts the lenders at ease because it minimizes the risk for their part. This in turn could help you nab that much-needed loan to fund your needs. Of course, the problem then turns to coming up with that down payment.  You might consider selling a prize possession, or saving your money. Some states, cities and municipalities also have programs that may be able to aid you with a down payment.

4. Make a practical choice – Understandably, you want to get a nice home to move into with your family. Then again, you also have to be realistic about your situation. If you do have a rather ugly credit standing, then don’t even think about getting something that is way out of your budget. Otherwise, you’ll only perpetuate the cycle of having bad credit. It’s not a place you would want to be stuck in at all.

Take a good, hard look at the kind of house you want and its amount. Then figure out how much you can afford to spend. Keep in mind that having bad credit will mean the mortgage will carry a higher interest rate. It’s not exactly fun, but it’s what you’ll have to deal with as a consequence of your record.

Despite that, however, what is most important is that your chances of getting mortgage financing with bad credit is still pretty good. It’s definitely going to take a lot of hard work on your part. You will have to do a lot of convincing, too, so that you can get your loan approved. But as many other people with bad records have proven, having a red flag on your credit record can be overcome. It’s going to make things a lot harder for you, but it does not have to be something that should permanently incapacitate your loaning capabilities. 

Feel free to join the discussion on the matter, or share your insights and comments below.

Author Bio:

Amy Johnson is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances. She also covers topics on how to identify credit card fraud that can help people protect their credit from credit scams.