If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you’re actually a member of the majority of people. It’s not something that’s only affecting you.
Unfortunately, though, it can be the sort of thing that prevents you from buying the property you want. You know you should be getting on the housing ladder, but you aren’t.
That’s where this post comes into the picture. It explores some of the methods you can use to purchase a property, even if you don’t have significant savings.
Read Budgeting Tips For Renters
First, you’ll want to read some budgeting tips to buy a house while renting. These can often provide you with money-saving ideas you never thought of in the past. Many of these articles can be an eye-opener, so they’re well worth exploring. They will also sometimes reveal your blind spots and what you’re getting wrong in your approach.
Stack Side Hustles
You also want to explore whether you can actually increase your income without boosting expenses. Sometimes, you can stack various side hustles one on top of the other.
For example, let’s say you’re working a regular corporate job. Adding Uber on top of this for eight hours a week can earn you an extra $400 after-tax that can go directly toward a deposit.
Find A Way To Put Less Money Down
You can also explore ways to put down less money on a house. For example, there are schemes that allow you to commit as little as 3.5% with FHA loans.
For example, suppose you want to buy a $200,000 apartment. This scheme means you could be paying as little as $7,000 upfront, which is more achievable than the usual $40,000.
Use Someone Else’s Credit
Another hack is to go to lenders and then offer to use someone else’s credit to get the mortgage you want. If you can find a suitable co-signer, you can often save a lot of money.
What’s nice about this approach is that it can boost your credit score significantly. Sometimes, you can rise by hundreds of points, reducing the mortgage interest you have to pay by a substantial amount (often more than you anticipate).
Consider Leasing
What about leasing? You can think of this option as a way to own the home at the end of the contract (similar to car leasing).
Essentially, it works similar to renting. You pay a rental amount but then also contribute to your equity in the home. Over time, you build up more ownership until the point where you actually own the thing outright.
You might want to use this option if your cash flow is an issue. Essentially, it gives you the same advantages of renting and owning, but without many of the downside of either.
Use Seller Financing
Lastly, you could look into seller financing. This is where the seller literally accepts payments over time instead of borrowing from a bank. So, for example, you agree to pay $10,000 per year until the balance is paid off.
