If you are thinking about buying a home, is it possible to be the wrong age to become a homeowner. While in most cases, age doesn’t matter when you are buying a home as long as you have the cash to pay for it or can qualify for a mortgage, there are some circumstances where you should consider your age before becoming a homeowner depending on the current phase of your life.
If you are so young that you haven’t established a career that will support you, you may want to delay making a long term commitment like purchasing a home. While you can always sell your home if you want or need to, it isn’t instantaneous when you decide to sell. If you hate your job and want to quit or lose a job or even relocate for a better one, it can take time to sell your home and if you are in a hurry, you may have to sacrifice on price to get out. Wait until you have established your career and feel solid in it before you purchase a home. Another option if you do need to sell after you purchase faster than you planned to is to rent out your home if you can’t sell it right away but that brings new hassles too. Becoming a forced landlord doesn’t work for everyone. It’s easy to think all you will have to do is accept the rent and cover your mortgage with that but when things come up they are still your responsibility. As a landlord, you will have to fix some things that you might not choose to if it was your home and if you relocate out of the area, it could be hard to maintain the home.
On the flip side, can you be too old to become a homeowner? Not technically but if you can no longer physically take care of the home, should you purchase one? Sure, you can hire people to maintain your home, take care of the yard, clean your home and much more but for many of us, part of the reason we choose to become homeowners is about taking care of the home and the pride that brings us. While you can pay for many things, you can’t pay someone to passionately care for your home the way you would. Your to do list can be accomplished by many but loving your home and that love showing up in the way you care for it can’t be paid for. If you can no longer personally invest in your home, it may be time to consider alternative living options meaning it isn’t the time to purchase a new home.
None of these choices have a firm answer that works for everyone but think about your situation and weigh your options about how you would handle future issues that might come up. No matter what your age, if you don’t have savings to cover housing expenses for 6 months or a year in case of the unexpected, say no to purchasing. Homes are more permanent than renting and a foreclosure will chase you for years if you get in over your head.
Image courtesy of Irina_kukuts/pixabay.com
