A house can be a great investment when you buy it at the right time. According to real estate agent, one of the mistakes that people make when buying houses is buying them at the wrong time. Here are situations when you shouldn’t buy a house:

You are having pressure from other people

When you are past a certain age or you are married, your friends are bound to have expectations about you. The most obvious one is that they expect you to get a new house. Don’t fall for this. Chances are that you are going to buy the house on debt which can be large.

For you to avoid the stress that comes with owning a home, you should only consider buying a house when you are absolutely sure that you are ready for it.

Remember you are the only one who is going to pay for the house; therefore, you shouldn’t encourage any pressure from outside sources. The only person who should pressure you to own a house is someone who is ready to help you with the payments.

You keep on moving

If you are like many other people, you keep on transferring in your job. The last thing you should do is to buy a house when you aren’t sure that you are going to live in a given area for a long time. If your job entails a lot of transfers or you have to move after a certain period, you will be better off renting rather than buying a house.

The good rule of thumb is to only consider buying a house when you are sure that you are going to live in a given area for more than five years. If you buy a house and you move, you will be paying rent for the new place at the same time servicing a loan for the bought house. This can mean hard financial times for you.

You qualify for a mortgage

Many people rush to owning homes simply because they qualify for a mortgage. There is nothing as absurd as this. The fact that you qualify for a mortgage doesn’t mean that you are ready to own a home.

Before you go ahead to buy a house, you should have a sitting with a financial adviser who will advise you on the right thing you should do. The professional will help you in preparing your financial records so that you can tell the amount that you can afford to pay at the end of every month.

Even if you can afford to make certain monthly payments comfortably, you should first save up a down payment. This helps you to clear your mortgage fast thus you have less stress.

You have other debts

Few people are able to pay for their houses in cash; therefore, you will most likely take a mortgage, which is a debt. If you have other debts, it’s wise that you avoid taking another one, until you have cleared the pending ones.

You should note that the more the debts you have, the more stressed you will be and the higher the chances you will be unable to make the payments early enough. When you don’t make your payments in time, you damage your credit and financial health which reduces the chances of you getting credit at a later date.

For you to be on the safe side, you should keep the debt-to-income ratio as low as possible. If you aren’t sure whether you should take another loan, you should have a sitting with a financial adviser who will advise you accordingly.

You don’t have enough money for repairs and maintenance

Even if you buy a new house, you will need to repair and maintain it from time to time. If you don’t have enough money to cater for the repairs and maintenance, you will be better off putting off the buying process.

Parting shot

House buying is a serious decision and you shouldn’t make it in haste. Get a financial planner before you pull the plug. If you feel you are ready to be a house owner, you should hire a reputable buyer’s who will guide you through the process.