Questions to Ask Yourself when Balancing a Home Buying Budget

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Selling your Charleston home ? Get a free home value report 

Today’s topic involves financial planning when buying a home. We suggest breaking down a budget to avoid difficulties in the future. Firstly, ask yourself the following four questions to help determine your personal budget.

• How much can you afford to spend on a home?
• How much is a comfortable monthly payment?
• How much would a bank be willing to lend you on a monthly basis?
• How does that amount of the bank translate into a listing price?

Next, we have suggestions for you to keep in mind when determining your budget. Here is our advice:

1. Take your overall income and remove your expenses. Identify monthly expenses and add them all up. You’ll want to include anything that might show up in your credit report such as a car payment, student loans, or credit card debt. Subtract those expenses from your total income.
2. Banks lend approximately forty percent of available income. Leftover income goes towards a housing payment.
3. For every seven to eight dollars spent monthly, you have a thousand dollars towards your home. For example, if you want to buy $100,000 home, you’d want a $700 or $800 monthly payment ideally.

If you have any questions about the buying process, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Is an Early Offer on Your Charleston Home a Bad Omen?

Buying a Charleston home? Get a full home search

Selling your Charleston home ? Get a free home value report 

I have a lot of people asking me what they should do with early offers on their home. Should they take them? Should they ignore them? What are you to do?

Here's what we know statistically: when a home is priced right and in good condition, it has a 40% chance of selling in less than 30 days. In the following 60 days, the home then only has a 16% chance to sell.

Sometimes sellers will get nervous and think that they've sold their home too quickly and for not enough money. This is not the reality of the situation. What happens is that buyers jump when they see a good home come onto the market.

If you get an offer quickly, its only a validation that you've priced your home well and that it is a desirable property.

If you're having trouble choosing from multiple offers on your home, please don't hesitate to give us a call. I'd love to consult with you and help you to make the best decision possible.

As always, refer to me as your #1 resource for real estate in Charleston!

Don't Miss Out on the Best Time to Sell Your Home

Buying a Charleston home? Get a full home search

Selling your Charleston home ? Get a free home value report 

A lot of people have been asking me when the best time to sell a home is. A lot of people tend to think that the summer is the best time to sell because it's the busiest season. However, here in Charleston we have phenomenal weather all year and we're also seeing a lot of people move to our city.

With this being said, there really is no 'best time' to buy or sell a home in Charleston. We don't have much seasonal shift due to weather, so we are very lucky with the market that we have.

In the winter months we still have a lot of buyers out looking for homes, so don't be afraid to list your home despite it being a slower time for the real estate market. The winter is actually a great time to sell a home because inventory drops off and home prices rise as a result.

If you're thinking about selling your home during the fourth quarter of this year, please don't hesitate to contact me. I would be happy to consult with you about selling for top dollar!