If you have been thinking about the first home by now, then you have reached the right place. You may be currently renting an apartment or maybe living with your parents, and you might think you have a lot of time. But it is important to take the first steps of moving into your very own home. If you are seeing yourselves in one of the luxury flats in Kochi in a few years from now, here are some of the most practical tips that will help you to save up for your first home:
Figure out how much you’ll need to save
Before beginning to save up for the down payment, you will need a clear idea of how much you will need to save. Firstly, sit down for a meeting with a mortgage lender, who will help you with the details regarding how much loan amount you are eligible for. As a general rule of thumb, your housing expense should not be more than 28 percent of your monthly income. For instance, a person buying an apartment will have to arrange the down payment, and along with it, you should also consider other costs like registration fees and furnishing costs.
Find the best way to save for your down payment
Since the money you are saving up for your down payment has a definite purpose and should be able to be arranged in specific time-frames, you should make sure that the money is saved appropriately. That is, it should not be saved in risk type investment vehicles like stocks. It is best to deposit your money in safe vehicles like a savings account. It is a fact that you may be able to earn more by investing in high-risk vehicles, you may lose your money in the process.
Set up an automated savings plan
If you are planning to invest in a flat, it is really important to automate your saving process unless you are a saver by nature. You should start a payroll savings plan that will automatically cut the money from your account without you knowing it. This is great to avoid the temptation to spend the money on purposes. Start a savings account exclusively for your home fund, and allocate a certain percent of your salary to directly go into the savings account.
Build flexibility into your savings plan
It is very important to build flexibility into your savings scheme, while you are looking forward to buying any villas or apartments, whatever the size of the down payment is. This is because, as you are saving up there will be other demands on your finances. Those may be unexpected costs like major car repairs, uncovered medical expenses, over even the temporary loss of a job. Therefore, you will have to be prepared when these costs happen. Make sure that you have an emergency fund before you start saving for your down payment.
