There is a perfect storm right now to buy a house- a global pandemic is driving people to work from home, record low interest rates, and a presidential election underway is creating a political climate driving people to grab something.
// START EARLY
My experience saving and buying for a house as a single woman was not a quick or easy sprint; in fact, I started saving for a house when I started working my first professional job right out of school. When I got paid I would immediately transfer money into my savings account with a "House Fund" note on it. This made it automatic and I didn't miss it when I tucked it away right when I got paid. (I probably could have automated my savings, but it was more fun to actually do it and write that it was for my house someday.)
Even though I had a million other priorities at the moment- travel, student loans, furnishing a new apartment- I knew that I had a dream to buy a house someday, and if I didn't start planning for it early, I wasn't going to be able to do it when I wanted to! (And when I wandered across a house someday, I wanted to be ready to jump on it!)
// TAKE YOUR TIME
Eventually I relocated to Metro Detroit, an area where I thought I could see myself living for the long haul. Even though I have lived in Michigan for my whole life (except for a couple brief stints elsewhere), I did not live in the Detroit area. I decided initially to get an apartment so I could get to know the area and figure out where I wanted to live.
Renting for a year was probably the best thing I could have done! If I would have bought sight unseen, I would have started looking at houses in maybe Royal Oak or something (very great places). But I would have really limited myself because there are lots of cute towns in that area that also have a lot to offer that I found by actually living there.
Buying a house is a massive investment and you don't want to buy, then realize you are in an area that gets all the traffic or just generally have remorse and realize your place doesn't fit your lifestyle.
//GET QUALIFIED
Southeastern Michigan, where I looked for roughly a year, is a fairly competitive region to purchase a home. Often homes are snapped up within hours of being listed. I did a lot of research upfront to know where I wanted to be, saved aggressively (packed a lot of work lunches), and found a realtor and mortgage broker to help me with the details to get all the paperwork in order to make sure I was prequalified and ready so I could write an offer when I found THE ONE.
