what’s a ff ordable for you, you could get “tricked” by a bank or lender into thinking you can a ff ord more than you can. Know your limits. Stay disciplined so you stay on track. Let’s say you’re counting on selling your home for xx amount of dollars to serve as your down payment for your dream home that’s a bit out of your fin ancial reach, and you don’t have extra in your savings account. What are you going to do if your home doesn’t sell for the amount you expected — or worse, if your home doesn’t sell at all, languishing on the market while you’re forced to pay two mortgages and can’t make ends meet? You have to be smart about this. While the process of buying a home, whether or not it’s your fir st, is a major emotional fin ancial investment, you must maintain emotional control and make practical decisions based on your budget and situation. Th e best approach? Pre-approval by a proven, experienced, qua lifi ed, and reputable mortgage lender with whom you have worked closely and carefully to determine the appropriate budget for a mortgage loan. Step 3: Create a List of Needs vs. Wants We described the concept of determining your needs vs. your wants in great detail and at great length in Chapter 4, but nonetheless, this topic is the third step in the overall home-buying process and bears repeating here. Essentially, you need to determine what is most important to you in a home — the non-negotiables — vs. what you’d like to have in a home — things you might need to let go of. In other words, fig ure out what you need in your home (think number of bedrooms or bathrooms, yard, garage, basement, etc.) vs. what you want in your home (such as a fenced-in yard, gourmet kitchen, deck, walk-in closet). Th en write these items down when you’re shopping for a 77
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