So you want to buy a home? Here's 5 things you need to know.

My husband and I bought our first house at the young age of 19. Yep you read that right, 19! We we living in an apartment and hated it. I honestly don't even know how or why we decided to buy vs rent but man am I glad we did. We looked up Realtor recommendations on a local Facebook group and chose one. She was amazing and so patient since we had no idea what we were doing at the time. I mean we were kids so yeah...

Anyways, I remember her connecting me with a local Loan Officer she worked with a lot and trusted. I'm sure he was great at his job but I just didn't understand anything about buying a home and my husband was training for a deployment so he wasn't there to help. I was so overwhelmed and stressed out I couldn't think straight. I was just going through the motions and doing what I was told.

It was during this purchase that I learned a few things and then I learned more when we bought our second home just a couple years later. So I'm here to share my wealth of knowledge now that I actually help people buy homes for a living. Buying a home is no easy task, it takes work and dedication.

1. Budget like your life depends on it

For a long time we managed money without a budget. We spent what we wanted, when we wanted and prayed the transaction went through. We lived way above our means Thank goodness for growth, am I right? Now we have a budget - I plan for everything I want to buy. When getting ready to buy your first home, it’s important to know exactly how much money you have coming in AND going out. That means budgeting every bill, shopping trip, vacation and large purchase. Tracking your money will allow you to know exactly how much house you can afford when it’s time to make that decision.

2. NO new debt

Since we lived in debt for so long now we're terrified to get into debt again. When you want to buy a house, do not go make large purchases or open up new credit cards. No car, no furniture shopping, nothing. I tell all my clients this in the first conversation we have, If someone wants your Social Security Number so you can buy something it's off limits. Of course sometimes its unavoidable and a need but more often than not, its a want. Taking on new debt is not a good idea when trying to obtain a mortgage because your debt to income ratio is so important. That means you need to be making more money than you have in debt every month. If you continue to add debt essentially you need to be adding income as well. But discipline is everything. So commit to the process.

3. Start saving NOW!

I love saving. My main goal is to save more than I spend, doesn't always work but hey - I've got kids. If you have no savings, set a small goal to start then increase it every time you reach that goal. You'll find that it's way easier to save $500 when you have $0 than it is to save $15,000 when you have $0. And honestly it becomes addicting to see the amount grow. Saving money will help you be prepared for your down payment, closing cost, inspections, furniture, etc. You will want to have some liquid cash to take care of all of the responsibility that comes with buying a home.

4. Pay down existing debt

The less money you spend every month on debt is more you have for a house. Dave Ramsay really likes the debt snowball method. Which honestly is a great method, I mean you're already used to paying that bill so keep paying it just put that amount towards another debt. First thing I would do is go to freecreditreport.com and get your free credit report. As consumers we get one free credit report every year. *HINT: you should be doing this every year even if you know what debts you have. This will help you keep track of legitimate accounts and if any accounts were open under your name (identity theft).* By paying down existing debt you free up room in your budget to get more house if that's what you need or just to have more of a cushion to keep on saving.

5. Raise your credit score

At one point in my life my credit wasn't great. I wasn’t taught anything about credit and how it worked; to me it was just another number. Now I understand how important it is in experiencing the life I want. Anything that requires a loan, requires a credit score and the better your score, the better your interest rate which equals more money you save. Raising your credit score also ties into number 4 above. The less debt you have the better your score gets. Making your payments on time will help with this tremendously. If you're someone who forgets a bill or two or all of them think about setting up autopay. Your payment history accounts for 35% of your score so this is a big deal.

Are you ready to buy your first home? Is your credit score good enough to get the interest rate you need? Have you saved enough to move forward? Lets talk!