Cheap Ways to Move Up the Housing Ladder

If you are looking to get ahead in life and to build genuine wealth in the process, then you need to own at least a couple of properties. This is definitely something easier said than done, however, meaning that you should be looking at smart ways in order to move up the housing ladder.

While it is definitely true that in expensive areas such as New York or San Francisco, the barriers to house ownership can be somewhat insurmountable, if you look around and find the right place to start, you will definitely be able to find a way to successfully move up the housing ladder. If you want to know what those ways are, then you are in the right place, as this guide has been created in order to give you the complete overview. Read on now to learn more. 

Avoid Major Cities

If you want to make sure that you are able to actually get on the housing ladder, then you definitely need to make sure that you are avoiding major cities such as New York, Austin, and San Francisco. This is because they are business hubs, meaning that people are willing to fork over way more money than usual in order to get on the ladder.

For example, in New York, people are starting to put in higher-than-normal bids just to be able to get an apartment. This means that if you want to get on the property ladder, then you should definitely be making sure that you avoid major cities and look for areas where house prices are more affordable. 

Try Manufactured Homes

If conventionally-made homes are out of your budget, then it might be a good idea to look around at the possibility of buying a manufactured home. Generally speaking, manufactured homes are a whole lot cheaper than conventional homes. This means that you can find an easy way to get onto the property ladder before being able to do up the manufactured homes that you are buying before selling them at a higher price.

The important part to bear in mind here is that a manufactured home in an out-of-the-way area might not be worth much, but if you manage to find one in a great area, then you could definitely wait a while before reselling it at a higher price.

Buy Run-Down Houses

While you won’t be able to find anything in the USA as cheap as these homes in Italy, if you are willing to put in the effort to take a previously run-down house and then renovate him fully, then you will find massive rewards in the process. The trick is not to find a house that is completely beyond repair because then you will actually probably find it too difficult to make it into the kind of place that you can genuinely sell. Instead, try and see if you can find a run-down house that is undervalued, then find a way to make it increase massively in value.

Downsize then Rescale

While a lot of people make key mistakes when downsizing in retirement, if you are looking to downsize early on, then you can definitely make a sizeable profit. For example, you might want to sell a large house in a not-so-popular area before moving into an apartment in a very popular area.

After all, you do this, you will have spare cash in your pocket, then you can wait until the area that you have your flat in rises in value, thus representing a great chance to have money. This is just one example of the clever ways that downsizing and then rescaling can definitely help you to get onto the housing ladder.

Get a Good Credit Score

It is worth pointing out that when you buy a house, it is very unlikely that you are going to buy a house outright. Instead, it is likely that you will be applying for a mortgage. It’s worth pointing out that you need to have at least 10% of the value of the house in cash if you want to get a mortgage. Nonetheless, you might need to pay more if you have a bad credit score.

While often calculated in mysterious ways, getting a good credit score is absolutely essential when you are looking to get on the housing ladder. This means making sure that you always pay off the full balance of your credit card, as well as making sure that all and every payments are met in full at the end of every month. If you are able to do this, then you will find it easier to move onto the housing ladder.

Don’t Aim Too High

If you decide to aim too high when you are looking to get onto the property ladder, you will actually find that you will probably get burned rather quickly. This is because this is an industry where large amounts of cash move, not to mention all the additional fees when it comes to actually making purchases that won’t be included in the price of the house itself. This means that, unless for some reason you have a lot of capital, to begin with, the best way to get on to the housing ladder and actually be able to stay there, is by starting as small as possible and then slowly working your way up from there.

Conclusion

Now that you have read this guide, it is likely that you will be in a very good place when it comes to making the necessary moves in order to get your foot on the housing ladder. It’s worth pointing out that this is a complex and difficult topic, so it’s unlikely that this guide has been able to cover absolutely all of the bases. With that said, do make sure to return to this guide before you think of buying so you will be able to make the right choice for you!