Good morning Dinks. Are you thinking of buying a home? Our friend Glenn at Free From Broke sat down with us to answer questions about how he and his wife bought their first home together.
Buying a house can be a big commitment, but it can also be very stressful. If you plan ahead you can get through the experience together and come out with a new home.
Here’s what Glenn had to say about his homebuyer experience:
When did you buy your first home and why?
We bought our house in 2010. At the time we had three kids, one of which was a baby. We had sold our co-op and were renting and knew we needed more space in a place that was our own.
How did the conversation of buying a home come up?
The conversation was basically born when our little guy was conceived. We already had a daughter who was in the 2nd bedroom. As a baby our son stayed in our room with us so even though things were getting tighter it was still manageable. We knew we would eventually need a bigger place and figured we’d buy a home when the time was right.
And then my wife was pregnant again. We really needed more space so we took steps to put our place on the market. Our plan was to sell our co-op, rent for a bit, then use the money we got selling our place to buy a house (which is what we did). I can’t say we ever argued about what to buy or where. Buying a house was new to us both and we were doing it during the chaos of a newborn.
What was the biggest surprise about buying a home together?
One thing that surprised us was how the bank went through our finances so meticulously. We were buying a house post-recession crash so banks were making sure all loans were good. They needed documentation on everything. The other thing that surprised us was how many houses we saw that were just plain bad. We had to start looking at some higher priced homes in order to find something that didn’t need a lot of work.
What is the best thing you like about owning a home with your spouse?
When we come home it’s ours. It took a bit of time to get used to that. Our family lives in this house. It’s nice knowing your setting down roots.
Did you take precautions in case of separation such as a prenuptial agreement?
We didn’t take any separation precautions.
Have you talked about what will happen when you sell your home? What will you do with the profits?
When we sell we expect it will be either to move somewhere else with the kids, a move in retirement, or a move once the kids are out of high school. Any money we’d make would go toward a new home.
If you have any questions for Glenn about his homebuyer experience please ask away. He is happy to open up about the purchase of his first home.
Photo from Flickr
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Thanks so much for featuring me!