My bf of 3 years wants to buy a home next year. This is probably a very ambitious timeline, but we're still in the exploration stage of figuring out budgets and how much we can afford, what public programs are available, etc. There are a few hitches that I'm hoping someone on here can explain to me, and I'm hoping to get some general advice.
I bought a house in 2008, right before the financial crisis. This... did not go well. There was a divorce involved and it was generally just not a good time for anyone involved. I sold it as a short sale in 2016, and that should drop off my credit report next year. To be honest, I was pretty young at the time and also had my mom guiding me through the buying process, so I really don't know what I'm doing either.
At the time, I took advantage of the first-time home buyer grant, so I assume that would not be available to me. He's never owned a home, but if we're both applying, would my status block him from getting it? If that is the case, I assume he would have to be the only one on the mortgage, but I want to be sure that if I'm paying toward the house that I also build equity. We're not married yet and don't have immediate plans for that, but it's headed in that direction. There aren't any red flags in the relationship, but since I've been burned before, I made sure that I always have an exit strategy just in case. We have separate bank accounts, and as long as we're both working we always will. Our finances aren't entirely mixed, but we do contribute mostly evenly to bills and such.
Like I said, we're very early in this process, but any advice on budgeting, how all this works, and any general tips would be greatly appreciated. TIA!
Submitted March 15, 2021 at 03:00AM by Kattoinette https://ift.tt/3eEFAKQ
