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After years of renting, April Carter, 42, of Philadelphia, managed to successfully overcome many obstacles homebuyers face when trying to break into homeownership: Rising home prices, one income, solo parent, near-zero in savings, an average credit score, and thousands of dollars of debt.
Despite her challenges, Carter bought her first home in early 2021.
You don’t need a perfect financial record or a winning lottery ticket to achieve your homeownership dreams, even in today’s hot market. “It’s a lot easier than what people think it is, and it’s OK if you only have a single income,” says Carter, an Army veteran who took advantage of her U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs loan benefit to purchase the home. “I put it off for so long, and I probably could have done it sooner.”
In many ways, the pandemic has made becoming a homeowner more difficult.
Low mortgage rates fueled demand at the same time that the number of homes for sale dwindled, which caused home prices to soar. And this market has been especially tough for first-time buyers as pandemic housing demand made the existing shortage of entry-level homes that much worse. These issues were exacerbated for many female buyers, particularly households headed by single women, according to a recent Freddie Mac survey.
In spite of these difficulties, people were able to become homeowners for the first time even with only one household income. We asked five single parents who purchased homes during the pandemic to share their homebuying story — including each buyer’s financial profile and their advice — so you can see exactly what it takes to become a homeowner right now.
Here is what these newly minted homeowners had to say.
How These 5 Single Parents Became Homeowners
If becoming a homeowner is a dream of yours, there’s a lot to learn from those who overcame the hurdles of buying a home on a single income while also supporting a family. These five single parents opened up to NextAdvisor about everything from their personal circumstances to specific financial details. These stories can give you a better understanding of what it takes to get a home loan, and ultimately, buy a home.
The numbers listed for credit score, income, debt, and savings are a snapshot of what their situations looked like at the time of …….
Source: https://time.com/nextadvisor/mortgages/advice-single-parent-homebuyers/
