Guest Article by Suzie Wilson

Photo by **Alexandr Podvalny** from **Pexels**

Starter Home or Forever Home?

The decision to buy a home is a monumental step in one's lifetime. Since it is such a big step and requires much planning and preparation, it is not something you want to do more than a handful of times (and even that is a lot!). However, maybe you’re still deciding between a starter home versus your forever home and need a moment to mull over it for a bit. Here's how to make the decision process a little bit easier.

Starter home pros

Certainly, starter homes are convenient. They do not require as much of a substantial investment and are pretty easy to come by. Other pros of investing in a starter home include lower property taxes and more flexibility down the line should you change your mind. It will also most likely be a smaller property, which means there will be less to maintain and less room to spend on. Of course, maybe you'll even decide to sell it one day for an impressive profit or lease it out as a rental property to subsidize the cost of your dream home.

Forever home pros

Deciding on a forever home is great because you know you'll be settled comfortably for a long time to come. Other advantages include customizing it to your heart's content, and it'll most likely be size proportionate to your family's requirements. Plus, you can enjoy the process of building new friendships once you're settled in.

What can you afford

Of course, one of the main factors that will influence if you can purchase a property is affordability at the end of the day. Applying for a home loan is an option if you want to pay off your mortgage in increments. Of the three primary loan types you have to choose from, an FHA loan is probably the most first-time homebuyer friendly.

Furthermore, when you hit that apply for FHA loan button, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised at what makes an FHA home loan that much more appealing than others. Apart from its flexibility regarding its general qualification requirements, it is also easier to meet the applicable loan requirements if you have a lower credit score and down payment amounts required usually aren't as stringent as compared with conventional loans.

In summary, when deciding between purchasing a 'forever' home or a temporary home, your final decision will come down to a host of factors. However, what matters most is that you are satisfied with your decision. Therefore, take all the time you need to decide to avoid a rash purchase that you may end up regretting one day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suzie Wilson is an interior designer with more than 20 years experience. What started as a hobby (and often, a favor to friends) turned into a passion for creating soothing spaces in homes of every size and style. Please visit her at happierhome.net.

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