Starting Small

If you’re house shopping, you’ve likely noticed that home prices are quite high. That’s one reason to go for what’s called a “starter home” — a smaller, more affordable home. You’ll get more bang for your buck. Even if you’ve been saving and can afford a bigger home, you still might want to get a starter. Here’s why.

Homeownership is expensive. Buying a home will likely end up costing you much more than you think. The actual buying, the down payment and the paying your mortgage each month is just the tip of the homeownership iceberg. Once you move into your home, you’ll have to pay for maintenance, taxes, unexpected repairs, insurance and more. If you opt for a starter home, it will be easier to afford all the associated costs that come with homeownership.

As most know, home maintenance can be costly. There are an endless amount of things that need fixing over the course of homeownership. Though most of the time the repairs and upkeep will be small things, those small things add up. If you opt for a smaller home, the maintenance costs will also likely be lower than if you decided to go with a larger home.

Here’s a crazy idea: If you move into a smaller, starter home, you might end up liking it. Just because you can afford a large home doesn’t mean you won’t like living in a smaller one. You could end up realizing that the third bedroom you thought you needed would have been a wasted space. Giving a starter home a shot will allow you to save money and explore what homeownership is like.