You could be planning to buy your first home or your next, but either way you’re going to need a down payment. It can be a substantial amount, so having some strategies to get there can be incredibly beneficial. Here are a few things that can help if you’re saving for a down payment on your Southern Maryland dream home:

 

Explore Your Options

The common advice for down payments is that you’ll need 20% of the home’s purchase price to put down — but that’s not always the case. Contact a loan officer or do some research on your own to see which options you have available. You may find that you qualify for loans that require a lower down payment.

 

Assess Your Budget

The first thing potential buyers should do when wanting to speed the down payment savings process is to assess their budget. What are your current monthly expenses? And which of those are true necessities? What are your current spending habits, and where might you be able to cut back? Saving doesn’t need to feel restrictive. It’s not about never spending any money in the process. It’s about getting excited about your goal and doing what it takes to get there. While swapping that morning drive-through coffee for one made at home might not feel exciting at first, as you watch your savings grow as a result of your updated budget, you’ll see the rewards.

 

Consider a Secondary Income

Your budget needs to be realistic. If you’ve assessed your budget and determined that you don’t have as much left over as you’d like for savings, a side hustle might be a great option. There are so many online, work-from-home type positions people can take up on a part-time basis. You could even start your own small business. Looking into creating an additional income stream and funneling that money directly into savings can dramatically accelerate your saving process.

 

Create a Strategy

If you know your savings goal, it’s important to know what the path to achievement looks like. How much do you plan to save a month? And at that rate, how long will it take you to reach your goal? Where should you be six months from now? How about a year from now? Giving yourself a clear plan to follow can help future buyers to stay on track.

 

Automate Your Savings

One of the best tips for those wanting to commit to saving for a down payment is to automate their savings plan. If you want to save $200 a month from your paycheck, consider adjusting a portion of your direct deposit to go straight to savings. If that’s not an option, setting up a monthly transfer from your checking to savings can achieve the same result. Automating the process ensures that the money makes it in each month. If you have extra money to throw into savings at the end of the month, that’s great, but at least you know you’ve hit your minimum no matter what.

 

 

If you’d like to get pre-approved for a mortgage, you can do that here. I’d also be happy to recommend some experienced, local Realtors to help you in the homebuying process. Just reach out to me — you can find all of my contact information at https://www.teamhalbert.com/