4 Tips for Single House Hunters

trulia.com

You’re single and ready to buy. Right now, house hunting might feel a bit daunting, even downright scary. But it’s also one of the smartest decisions you can make, especially if you’re secure in your job and committed to your location.

If you’re able to overcome your fear of commitment and head into homeownership on your own, here are a few key points that should make the hunt a little easier:

Dream within Your Budget

Buying a home on your own is exciting! Plus, it’s a great investment in your financial future. But make sure you are looking at homes you can afford, especially if you have any hiccups in your financial profile. Life changes like sudden unemployment or serious health issues are impossible to predict.

Buying a home is one of the smartest decisions you can make, especially if you’re secure in your job and committed to your location.

The reality is that there are many financial hazards that could affect your ability to cover your monthly mortgage. So before you commit to a lifestyle you might not be able to afford, consider what it would take to make the additional monthly nut if you didn’t have a steady source of income.

Pay Attention to Safety

Not to fear-monger, but when you’re buying alone, it’s important to remember you won’t be home all of the time. With a single homeowner, it’s unlikely that someone will be at the house during the day — or even every night. That’s why you should consider safety and security issues when you tour open houses. Of course, you want to look for a house in a low-crime neighborhood, but there are other factors to consider when you preview your new pad. Are there locks on the windows? Is the street or driveway well lit at night? Does the home come equipped with a security system? Although they aren’t necessarily as enticing as stainless steel appliances or skylights, these types of safety considerations will help you sleep better at night.

Are You a Weekend Warrior?

Sure, you have the benefit of enjoying your alone time in your spacious new home. But guess what? You’re still alone when the faucet leaks, when ants take over the kitchen, and when the windows need washing. Oh, and did we mention that the grass is now a foot high and the driveway needs to be repaved? If you find the idea of maintaining a single-family home overwhelming, then you might want to consider a condominium or townhouse. Condo association fees go toward maintaining the overall property, and that means you’ll never have to worry about hauling out that rusty old lawnmower on a sunny Saturday.

Think Resale from Day One

Purchasing a home is a long-term investment. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be ready to move one day — and there’s always the possibility that day may come sooner than you think. There are many reasons to move, including relocating for a job or unexpected family obligations. (And there’s always the chance that you’ll fall for someone who lives across the country.) So even if you’re rooted in your community, it’s important to think about the resale value of your potential home during the search. Consider properties that have a spare bedroom, even if it’s not space you need today. If it’s affordable, extra square footage is always worth the investment.


- See more at: http://www.trulia.com/blog/scared-buy-solo-4-tips-single-house-hunters/#sthash.tBOw2ytw.dpuf

7 Reasons Single Women Are Going Abroad

huffingtonpost.com 

Suzan Haskins and Dan Prescher

InternationalLiving.com Editors

We've been noticing something intriguing here in our little Andean mountain village in northern Ecuador.

More and more single women from the U.S. and Canada are showing up.

And they're not coming as tourists. They're settling here...as in, renting and buying apartments, condos, or houses and living here full- or part-time.

And it's not just happening where we live. It's happening almost everywhere expat communities exist. From Ajijic, Merida, and San Miguel de Allende in Mexico to Boquete and Panama City in Panama to Cuenca and Salinas in Ecuador and points in between and beyond...more single women than ever before are staking their claims to the expat lifestyle.

What's going on?

Photo courtesy of InternationalLiving.com

We've noticed several things that could be contributing to this trend.

First, there are just more women at or near retirement age these days. It's the Boomer generation after all, and roughly half the babies born during the baby boom years were female. It's just statistics.

Second, just as their male Boomer counterparts, female Boomers are finished raising children, done with careers, and ready to enjoy the fruits of their lifelong labor. And many of them are looking abroad for that fruit. And finding it.

Third, the generation of women at or near retirement age right now are the generation that started the modern women's liberation movement. They grew up expecting the same rights as men...including the right to go anywhere on the planet they want to, and do it by themselves if they want to.

Fourth, more and more of these women are, in fact, by themselves. Statistically, they outlive their male partners. And statistically, more of them have gotten divorces or separations from their male partners than any previous generation of women. And again, statistically, more of them stayed single in the first place than any other generation of women in history.

Fifth, this generation of women is generally better off financially than any previous generation. They've simply worked more at more kinds of jobs and made more money at them than women ever have before.

Sixth, they know how to use the Internet. And the Internet is where you're reading this right now. It's where other women who have made the move abroad post their blogs and tell their stories. It's where companies like International Living post information about living, working, and retiring abroad. It's where most of the ideas about living better for less overseas are discussed and shared all day, every day. And this generation of women are plugged in to all that.

And seventh... and this is just our opinion formed from meeting hundreds of these women in dozens of expat destinations over the past few years...this generation of women actually make better expats than men do for one hugely important reason.

They are running to something...not away from something.

Photo courtesy of InternationalLiving.com

At the risk of seeming overly simplistic about this, a lot of men we know who move abroad do so because they dislike the way things are back home. This is fairly obvious when you sit in the expat cafés and bars and restaurants and listen in on their conversations. They're often talking about how bad things are back home and how glad they are to have gotten out when they did.

Now eavesdrop in the same cafés and restaurants on a table full of expat women. They're nearly always talking about the strange and wonderful new fruits they found at the local mercado...or the craft projects they're working on for the upcoming community fundraiser...or the beautiful children they met while volunteering at the local school...or the incredible costumes and dances they saw while attending the local holiday celebration...or the remarkable scenery they encountered on their latest day trip into the countryside.

They're here because they've always wanted to be here. They're having the adventures they've always dreamed of. They ran to the expat destination of their choice because they love it and want to be part of it.

In our experience, there is an ever-growing number of women who feel this way and have reached the age and position in life to do something about it. And they're not letting anything stop them from making those lifelong dreams come true.