When it comes to finances, we’ve all been through the ringer these last few years. While reports on the current state of the economy vary greatly, it’s generally safe to say that it’s been better and that we aren’t completely out of the woods just yet. While we might be climbing our way toward the end of the tunnel (please say it’s so!) we’re still not as well off as we were before this whole sorry mess began.
And this has affected all of our lifestyles of course, and all of the larger industries. Nowhere though is it more apparent than in the housing market which has slowed right down with fewer and fewer people able to take the plunge with such a large purchase. This is particularly bad for first time buyers of course too who don’t have anything to sell to raise the capital, and who are generally younger and not as well off to begin with. Without investing in real estate though, those same people are going to be spending large amounts of money regularly on renting and thus making it more and more difficult to ever get to the point where they are able to invest in real estate.
So the question is, what can you do to get out of this sticky situation? When you’re between a rock and a hard place, how can you beat your circumstances and invest at a time when actually the housing prices are quite low? Here are some tips and suggestions…
Improve Your Credit Rating
If you’re currently looking to buy a new property then you should be saving as much money as possible toward making as big a deposit as possible. This is obvious, but what you might not have considered is the importance of improving your credit rating – which is a figure that dictates the way the banks see you and how willing they are to invest in you with a loan. In short if your credit rating is poor then your APR is going to be very high on any mortgage and you may not be able to get one at all – so look at ways you can prove to the bank that you’re reliable and in a stable financial situation so that when the time comes you are able to get yourself a good mortgage relatively easily.
Team Up
If you can’t afford to buy a property on your own, or if you are afraid to, then going in with someone else is a good way to invest your money and improve your quality of life without making such a large financial commitment. This doesn’t have to be a partner – it could mean getting help from a parent, or it could just mean buying a house with a group of friends. Either way you’ll be able to get money back out of the deal when you leave, and you’ll technically be a homeowner.
Cut the Other Costs
You should also look into ways you can reduce all the other costs of moving so that you can focus on the property itself. This means shopping around and seeing if you can find cheaper settlement agents and cheaper surveyors, and it means throwing out lots of your things so that you can forego using a removal company.
Schemes
There are plenty of schemes available specifically for those who are struggling to afford a property from ‘rent to buy’ schemes to ‘part-buy-part-rent’. Each has strengths and weaknesses and they won’t all appeal to everyone, so do your research and consider these alternatives to buying outright.
Jimmy Hendricks has done quite well for himself in the trading business. He gives simple trading tips and advice to his readers on his blogs.