As such, that’s mainly what this post will focus on. If you can’t afford a house, but want to invest in one, here are some tactics to help you save up and raise the funds you need.
Be warned, these ideas aren’t instant.
They won’t make money magically appear in your hands right away. Some work quicker than others, but they’re all worth looking at.
Stick to a budget and save money
Yes, a boring piece of advice, but good advice nonetheless. Budgeting means you restrict your overall monthly spending.
It requires a great deal of planning to get your budget right. As an investment beginner, you need to work out how much money you need to save.
This will typically be enough to afford a downpayment on a mortgage.
Take this figure, then consider how much money you can save each month. Soon, you’ll work out how tight your budget needs to be based on how soon you need the money.
For example, the downpayment is $2,400, you set aside $200 every month, and you reach the figure in a year.
That’s not an accurate representation of downpayment figures, it was chosen as the easiest way to explain the point!
Sell annuity
This tip might not apply to everyone, but it will be useful to some of you. Do you have annuities of any kind?
This can include a pension, a legal settlement, even casino winnings.
It is also considered a type of investment, with the aim being that you get regular payments from the annuity into your account.
Sounds pretty good, but it won’t help you get the money you need for a house. Instead, you should look for annuity buyers that will offer a cash sum for your annuity.
It lets you unlock the money in your annuity and use it a lot sooner. This extra influx of cash can help you buy a house in full, or at least afford your mortgage.
Downsize
Downsizing is where you look at your life and basically make it smaller and less extravagant.
If you owned a home, you’d sell it and buy a smaller one that costs less and is easier to handle. Of course, you don’t own one, so how can you downsize?
Realistically, downsizing is easy! Here’s an example, sell your car and buy a cheaper model. Instantly, you may have an extra thousand dollars or so.
Another idea: stop buying loads of new clothes every month. Or, sell expensive things – like shoes – that you no longer wear or don’t really need.
In essence, you get rid of unnecessary expenses in your life. This can help you generate some extra funds right away, as well as assisting in your efforts to save money.
All three of these ideas will help you raise the money to invest in your first property.
It won’t happen overnight, but if you stick to the changes you make, you’ll be amazed at how much sooner you can afford the investment.