You might not like it but 2025 is just three short months away. While that may feel like a long time, it’s really not. The days are already getting shorter, the air is getting cooler, the leaves are changing color. The holidays aren’t too far away and after them, a new year. We at Garbett Homes know that for many people, like yourself, buying a new home might be one of their goals for 2025. Let’s talk about what you can start to do now to prepare for that purchase.
Review Your Finances
While this advice is obvious on the surface how you should review your finances isn’t discussed much. Take advantage of your free annual credit report to see about any issues, surprises, or concerns that might affect your ability to get a mortgage. Credit reports also let you see your credit score, which can affect what interest rate your loan will be, or if you can even qualify at all. At this same time review your household income, how much of a down payment you’ve saved up, and eliminate unnecessary expenses. Including paid streaming services if necessary.
Know Where You Want to Live
While the Salt Lake Valley doesn’t have any truly bad places to buy a home, different places will be suited to different people. Take the time to consider different aspects of your life. If you have family in the area do you want to live nearby or have a healthy distance? Do you want to reduce your car dependency by living closer to public transit? Do you have a commute? How close do you want to be to your job? By considering these questions about where you want to live, you can have a more focused approach to your search for your new home. Making it easier to find a home that will you keep you happy for the long term.
Separate Your Needs vs Your Wants
Practical advice might be boring, but it can have an important impact on the success of your house hunt. As an example, if you frequently work from home you probably need a dedicated home office space. You might want to dedicate a whole bedroom to become your home office. While a flex space might be enough to meet your needs. This ability to separate needs from wants can help you feel more confident in the purchase of your home. Additionally it will be another way that you can enjoy a more focused home search, which can lead to a more successful home search.
Whether its with one of our communities or someone else, we hope that this information will help you get started on your homebuying journey. By taking this methodical approach, we know that you’ll be more prepared to fulfill your dreams for 2025. If you want to start researching our communities, please check out our model homes in Murray, Midvale, Millcreek, Salt Lake City, and Wasatch County.