{"id":23952,"date":"2026-04-19T03:07:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/incredipros.com\/?p=23952"},"modified":"2026-04-19T03:07:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T03:07:47","slug":"am-i-ready-to-buy-a-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/incredipros.com\/?p=23952","title":{"rendered":"Am I Ready to Buy a House?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ever heard someone say everyone <\/em>should buy a house? Or that renting is a lot like flushing a whole bunch of money down the toilet every month? Yeah, we\u2019ve heard that stuff too. And it\u2019s nonsense! The truth is, not everyone should buy a house.\n <\/p>\n

Because, if you sign the dotted line on a new home when you aren\u2019t prepared financially and emotionally, the house will wind up being a curse instead of a blessing. It <\/em>will wind up owning you <\/em>instead of the other way around. When you are <\/em>prepared to buy a house, though, it can be a wonderful blessing for your family and a great way to build wealth.\n <\/p>\n

At this point, you\u2019re probably asking yourself,\u00a0Am I ready to buy a house?<\/em>\u00a0What a great question! Let\u2019s take a look at a checklist that will help you decide if you\u2019re ready to get the ball rolling on buying a house.\n <\/p>\n

You\u2019re Ready to Buy a Home If . . .<\/h2>\n

If you can say, \u201cHeck, yes!\u201d to each statement below, then pack your bags, baby\u2014you\u2019re ready to buy a house!\n <\/p>\n

1. You\u2019re debt-free with a full emergency fund.<\/h2>\n

The first step in making sure you\u2019re financially<\/em> ready to buy a house is paying off all your debt and saving up a full emergency fund. That\u2019s right\u2014it\u2019s time to say goodbye to your credit card balance, car payments, student loans and everything else you owe money for. Then, you\u2019ll want to build up an emergency fund worth 3\u20136 months of your typical expenses.\n <\/p>\n

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Avoid overpaying for your home with a RamseyTrusted\u00ae<\/sup> agent.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Why is it important to accomplish those goals before buying a house? First off, if you try buying a house while you have debt, it\u2019ll be tough to save up a strong down payment since most of your extra money will be going out the door to credit card companies or Sallie Mae. And if you buy a house without an emergency fund, you\u2019ll have a crisis on your hands when something inevitably goes wrong\u2014think a leaky roof or a faulty HVAC unit.\n <\/p>\n

On the flip side, some will say you need<\/em> debt to earn a good credit score\u2014since that\u2019s the only way to get a mortgage. But that\u2019s a bunch of bull. You can actually buy a house without a credit score. And if you\u2019ve been living a debt-free lifestyle, you probably don\u2019t<\/em> have one\u2014which is a great thing!\n <\/p>\n

To get a mortgage without a credit score, all you have to do is work with a lender that does manual underwriting. That\u2019s when a lender personally digs through your financial history to see how you manage money and approves you for a mortgage . . . instead of relying on a goofy algorithm to predict how you manage debt (a monkey could do that). Sure, having a lender manually underwrite your loan isn\u2019t what\u2019s considered normal these days. What\u2019s \u201cnormal\u201d is for lenders to approve buyers for a bigger mortgage than they can afford. Normal is broke. Be weird!\n <\/p>\n

Keep in mind: No<\/em> credit isn\u2019t the same as bad<\/em> credit. Buying a house with bad credit is a terrible idea. If your credit score is lower than the mid-600 range, you\u2019ll only be eligible for crappy, high-interest loans. So, before you buy a house, buckle down and knock out your debt as fast as possible using the debt snowball. Once debt\u2019s a distant memory, get busy stockpiling money in an emergency fund. Then your budget will be secure and you can focus on saving up a down payment. Speaking of down payments . . .\n <\/p>\n

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2. You have a good down payment.<\/h2>\n

The best way to buy a home is to put 100% down (trust us,\u00a0it\u2019s possible). But if paying cash for your home isn\u2019t in the cards for you and you want to take out a mortgage, you will<\/em> need to make a good down payment.\n <\/p>\n

A 20% down payment is ideal since it means you\u2019ll avoid paying for private mortgage insurance (PMI)\u2014a fee that insures the lender (not you) if you don\u2019t make your mortgage payments. If you\u2019re a first-time home buyer, a 5\u201310% down payment is okay, but plan to pay that pesky PMI and work on\u00a0getting rid of it ASAP.\n <\/p>\n

For a simple plan for how to save up a big down payment fast, download our\u00a0Saving for a Down Payment Guide. Don\u2019t forget: A bigger down payment means smaller monthly payments and <\/em>a smaller loan, overall.\n <\/p>\n

And by the way, the only type of mortgage you should even consider<\/em> is a 15-year fixed-rate conventional loan. Going for a 30-year loan may seem like a good way to lower your payments, but it\u2019s also a good way to pay a ton <\/em>more (like, tens of thousands of dollars) in interest while you stay in debt for an extra decade and a half. You should also stay far away from FHA and VA loans, and all their pesky fees.\n <\/p>\n

When you\u2019re ready, our friends at\u00a0Churchill Mortgage\u00a0can walk you through getting preapproved for a 15-year fixed-rate loan.\n <\/p>\n

3. You can afford monthly house payments and home maintenance.<\/h2>\n

The next sign you\u2019re ready to\u00a0buy a house\u00a0is when your budget can handle house payments. Specifically, your monthly house payment should never be more than 25% of your take-home pay.\n <\/p>\n

Why? When your house payment eats up more than a fourth of your take-home pay, your budget will be way <\/em>too tight. Tying up that much of your income in a house payment won\u2019t leave you enough money to put toward other important financial goals like saving for retirement. That\u2019s what we call house poor<\/em>.\n <\/p>\n

So, before you pull the trigger on a new house, add up how much your monthly payment would be and make sure it won\u2019t go past that 25% mark. Our mortgage calculator will give you a realistic look at what that number will be.\n <\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget, your monthly payment is more than just the principal and interest on your loan. More than likely, you\u2019ll also be paying for . . .\n <\/p>\n