Advice for First-Time Home Buyers
Find out where to find the money to get your foot in the door and your key in the lock.
Anh Nguyen always dreamed of having a walk-in closet. So the first thing she did after buying her Arlington, Va., duplex a year ago was make that dream a reality: Racks and shelves of clothes and shoes now line the walls of what was once a tiny bedroom. Creating her dream closet led to polishing up a finished basement to create a real third bedroom. Nguyen needed the space for two roommates, her best friends, who would be moving in to help cover the costs of ownership.
The 25-year-old IT consultant qualified for a $320,000 mortgage on her own, but having roommates keeps her firmly in the comfort zone. At a 5.3% interest rate, her monthly mortgage payment is $2,000, and she covers more than half of that with rent money from her roommates. The three share the cost of utilities, making Nguyen’s budget even more manageable. “I really lucked out,” she says. “Aside from my roommates’ financial support, they make the house feel like a home.”