Congratulations on your new home purchase! Now what?
You’ve unpacked the last box and are now settling in. Here a few tips to make your life as a new homeowner more secure:
- Keep Saving.
With homeownership comes unexpected expenses, like replacing the roof or getting a new water heater. Even with new homes, repairs and unexpected costs arise. Start an emergency fund for your home to ensure you won’t be caught off-guard when these costs inevitably arise.
2. Perform Regular Maintenance
Most likely the largest investment of your life, your home can remain a good investment in part by ensuring you keep it in good repair. Regular maintenance can decrease your repair costs by allowing problems to be fixed when they are small and manageable.
3. Ignore the Housing Market.
The only time it matters what your home is worth is when you are selling it. Being able to choose when you sell your home, rather than being forced to sell it due to job relocation or other major life change, will be the biggest factor in whether you will see a profit from your investment.
4. Don’t plan on funding your retirement solely with the sale of your home.
Even though you own a home, you should still continue to fund your retirement account(s). While it is true that many people have made small fortunes during a housing bubble, you can’t rely on making a killing when you sell your home. If you want to look at your home as a source of wealth in retirement, consider that once you’ve paid off your mortgage, the money you were spending on monthly payments can be used to fund some of your living and medical expenses in retirement.
5. Enjoy your Home!