Home Sweet Home… Making Home Happen with SunTrust

I remember it like it was yesterday… when Jeff and I decided to start looking for a home. We were mid-twenty somethings and I felt like it was the next big step in our relationship—little did I know I would be getting engaged soon thereafter, but that was the moment when I felt like we were truly making some pretty big decisions for ourselves and purchasing our first home together.

It’s a HUGE financial [and life] milestone and since I’ve walked down that road, I know how overwhelming and scary it can feel. Everyone’s reasons for considering homeownership are different, but for us, it was wanting to invest in something—moving away from rental fees and spending tons of money every month on something we didn’t own. We wanted to put our roots down in Nashville and it was the perfect opportunity for us to tackle it together. Banking with SunTrust, I love that they have SO many helpful resources for whatever you need assistance with. I talked about their Small Business Entrepreneurship last year, so I was thrilled when they reached out to talk about their Home Ownership Hub on onUp.com, which helps you get the confidence and knowledge needed to buy and/or remodel a house to make it YOUR home sweet home.

Now that we have bought three homes and are nearing the completion of renovating our current abode during our seven years of marriage, I think I’ve got some pretty good experience to share about this entire process! And I am thrilled to talk about the process of home ownership, helping to educate others and make you more confident in this big leap of faith—one step at a time. Here are three tips for taking that next step into purchasing a home:

ONE. Do Your Research | We moved a lot growing up… mostly because my mom loved the building process and decorating new duds, but my parents always did their research before they decided to purchase a new home. This article via onUp.com is extremely helpful in making sure you’re organized, prepared and practical about what’s about to happen!

TWO. Know How Much You Can Afford | You’ve heard of being “house poor”, so this is when it pays off to know your numbers… use this helpful monthly mortgage calculator to input your approximate purchase price, down payment, term length and interest rate to see what your mortgage will look like—THEN make a budget of all other fixed and variable costs to ensure you can afford that cute little cottage or high rise condo you’ve got your eyes on. Estimating your costs upfront can save a lot of hassle and unnecessary stress!

THREE. Get Ready for the Loan Process | I wish I would’ve known about the loan process long before we started going through the experience… it tends to be a long, drawn out situation and it’s best to make sure you’ve checked all the boxes! Read this “5 Things You Need…” to get prepared, get educated and make the loan situation easy + worry free. FINALLY, read the Homebuying Journey Guide for everything else you need to know—from prep to shopping to closing, this one-stop read will have you covered!

This post was sponsored, and paid for, by SunTrust. All opinions are my own.