{"id":7974,"date":"2023-02-23T11:30:26","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T11:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thezakariagroup.com\/how-to-make-your-dream-of-homeownership-a-reality\/"},"modified":"2023-02-23T11:30:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-23T11:30:26","slug":"how-to-make-your-dream-of-homeownership-a-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thezakariagroup.com\/how-to-make-your-dream-of-homeownership-a-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Make Your Dream of Homeownership a Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"358\" src=\"https:\/\/files.simplifyingthemarket.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/22130933\/how-to-make-your-dream-of-homeownership-a-reality-KCM.jpg\" alt=\"How To Make Your Dream of Homeownership a Reality Simplifying The Market\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear: both; max-width: 100%;\"><\/p>\n<p>According to a recent <em>Harris Poll <\/em>survey, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/article\/mortgages\/2023-home-buyer-report\">8 in 10<\/a> Americans say buying a home is a priority, and 28 million Americans actually plan to buy within the next 12 months. Homeownership provides many financial and nonfinancial <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2022\/12\/22\/what-makes-a-house-a-home\/\">benefits<\/a>, so that interest is understandable.<!--more--><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>However, it\u2019s unlikely all 28 million Americans will accomplish that goal in the coming year. Experts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2022\/12\/16\/2023-housing-market-forecast-infographic\/\">project<\/a> a total of around five million homes will be sold in 2023. Why is there such a big difference? It\u2019s partly because there can be challenges to buying a home.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>In the same survey, when asked, \u201c<em>Which of the following are preventing you from pursuing homeownership at this time?\u201d<\/em>:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>34% answered, \u201c<em>I don\u2019t have enough saved for a down payment<\/em>\u201d<\/li>\n<li>30% answered, \u201c<em>My credit score<\/em>\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you\u2019re aiming to buy a home, here\u2019s what you need to know to accomplish that goal.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Save for Your Down Payment<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2023\/02\/03\/you-may-not-need-as-much-as-you-think-for-your-down-payment-infographic\/\">down payment<\/a> is a big chunk of what you pay up front for your home. For most home purchases, buyers put down some amount of cash up front (a down payment) and then take out a loan (a mortgage) to pay for the rest.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a longstanding myth that you need to pay 20% of the purchase price for your down payment. In reality, 20% down isn\u2019t always required. In fact, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\/research-and-statistics\/research-reports\/highlights-from-the-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers\"><em>National Association of Realtors<\/em><\/a> (NAR), today\u2019s median down payment is 14% for the average buyer and just 6% for a first-time buyer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Regardless of how much money you can save for your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2023\/01\/03\/wondering-how-much-you-need-to-save-for-a-down-payment\/\">down payment<\/a>, know there\u2019s help available. A local lender can show you <a href=\"https:\/\/downpaymentresource.com\/\">options<\/a> to help you get closer to your down payment goal. Plus, there are even loan types, like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hud.gov\/buying\/loans\">FHA loans<\/a>, with down payments as low as 3.5% for some buyers, as well as options like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2022\/11\/10\/va-loans-can-help-veterans-achieve-their-dream-of-homeownership\/\">VA loans<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rd.usda.gov\/programs-services\/single-family-housing-programs\/single-family-housing-guaranteed-loan-program\">USDA loans<\/a> with no down payment requirements for qualified applicants.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Beyond assistance programs and different loan types, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nerdwallet.com\/article\/mortgages\/payment-buy-home\">here<\/a> are a few other tips to help you as you save for your down payment:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Remember to factor in closing costs.<\/strong> In addition to your down payment, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2023\/02\/13\/what-you-should-know-about-closing-costs\/\">closing costs<\/a> are usually 2-5% of the home&#8217;s purchase price.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maintain your savings<\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> Your down payment shouldn\u2019t deplete all your savings. It\u2019s important to still have some money set aside for homeownership expenses after you move in.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Explore your options and lean on your trusted advisor for expert guidance. <\/strong>Do your research, ask questions, and look into the resources available for buyers like you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Improve Your Credit Score<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Your credit score is a number that indicates how financially reliable you are to lenders. A higher credit score usually means you\u2019ll be able to borrow more money at a better interest rate. If your credit score is preventing you from getting an affordable mortgage, there are steps you can take to improve it. Here are two:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pay your bills on time.<\/strong> When you pay your bills on time, your credit score improves. When you\u2019re late, it takes a hit. One way to make paying your bills on time easier? Set up automatic payments when and where you can.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mix it up.<\/strong> From auto loans, to credit cards, to mortgages \u2013 there are several different types of credit. And having a mix of them improves your credit score.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Bottom Line<\/h3>\n<p>\nIf you want to purchase a home this year, let\u2019s connect so we can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2023\/02\/10\/how-to-win-as-a-buyer-in-todays-housing-market-infographic\/\">start preparing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wpematico_credit\"><small>Powered by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wpematico.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to a recent Harris Poll survey, 8 in 10 Americans say buying a home is a priority, and 28 million Americans actually plan to buy within the next 12 months. Homeownership provides many financial and nonfinancial benefits, so that interest is understandable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101010,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[110,107,98,99,102,101],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How To Make Your Dream of Homeownership a Reality - The Zakaria Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thezakariagroup.com\/how-to-make-your-dream-of-homeownership-a-reality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Make Your Dream of Homeownership a Reality - The Zakaria Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to a recent Harris Poll survey, 8 in 10 Americans say buying a home is a priority, and 28 million Americans actually plan to buy within the next 12 months. 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