Almost anything you can imagine can be done in multiple ways. We can say the same about purchasing a home. Those who find common ways to buy a house unsuitable for their needs will be happy to learn there are alternative ones to explore. Therefore, here are some alternative ways to buy a house you should check out that might be perfect for you.
1 Make a co-purchase of a house with your friend
From a financial point of view, living alone is not exactly an easy feat. After all, that is one of the factors that makes cohabitation something a large portion of people chooses to do. Two salaries are always better than one when it comes to paying bills, and the same goes for financing the purchase. Usually, co-purchase involves a romantic couple, but there’s no reason why friends can’t buy a home together. A larger house can easily become a home for two families. This arrangement may seem a bit unorthodox, but when you think of it, there are multiple benefits to it. Besides the obvious economic reasons, maintaining a house is much easier when more people are involved. As you probably know, out-of-the-box thinking like this can sometimes produce brilliant results.
2 Get a family member to be your guarantor
Rarely anyone nowadays has the cash to buy a house, so most of us decide to take out a loan. The tricky part about that is that loans usually require a 20% down payment, which can be substantially high. One way to avoid this is to get a family member to be your guarantor. That means this person needs to put their property as a guarantee that you will repay the loan. Your closest ones probably understand your need to own a home or get a bigger one better than anyone. Because of that and the love they undoubtedly have for you, there’s a good chance they will be willing to help you out. If you agree, you should ask them.
3 One of the alternative ways to buy a house is at an auction
They say that he who risks wins. Although this statement isn’t always true, a real estate auction provides an opportunity to gain a much more valuable home than the amount you pay for it by taking a certain amount of risk. Of course, you could be getting something you really didn’t want, but that’s the risky part of it. The properties offered at this type of event are either in foreclosure or seized by the government because the owner has not been paying taxes. Therefore, the entity that has taken over the property offers it to secure the amount that is owed to it.
If this seems like a good option for you, make sure you get all the information about home auctions. For example, one of the reasons this alternative way of purchasing homes is risky is the fact that the buyers are usually offered very little information about the house. In most cases, you won’t even see its interior until you buy it. But, because of its potential to secure a bargain for people, the house auction is worth considering.
4 Shared ownership is another alternative
Another interesting possibility when it comes to getting a property to belong to you is to decide to own just part of it. This alternative implies that you pay for just part of the home to the owner, so the two of you gain joint ownership of the house. Since you are the one to actually live in the house, you would be paying your co-owner rent for using his part.
In case you are not keen on moving and do not have considerable finances to spend on the house purchase, ask your current landlord if this works for them. For starters, packing a house for relocation might take some time not everyone can afford. If your landlord agrees, this solution is cheaper and less logistically demanding. If only the economic part of it seems attractive to you, look for such offers elsewhere, it doesn’t have to be the house you are renting now.
5 An increasingly popular rent-to-own option
A rent-to-own option has become very popular lately as it benefits both the seller/landlord and the buyer/tenant. It means that the tenants sign an agreement where they pay rent to live in a property that they oblige to buy after the pre-agreed lease period is over. This is one of the alternative ways to buy a house that can take some more time than the others. However, one significant benefit is that the purchase is inevitable.
6 Secure the money for your new home through crowdfunding
Modern times have brought some new ways people can help each other. Crowdfunding websites are one of those. There you can state your situation, ask others to make small donations, and help you collect money to buy a house. Alternatively, the people on these sites will offer their money to you through a loan without involving banks. Sounds interesting? Here are some of such websites to check out:
- PeerStreet
- GoFundMe
- Fundly
7 Seller financing is a great option that doesn’t involve banks
Speaking of avoiding banks but getting a loan, here’s another option that provides just that – seller financing. The seller may offer you to pay off a house in monthly installments directly to them. You can make an arrangement that suits both of your needs best and practically get a loan even if the banks don’t give you one.
Final thoughts
It is natural for all of us to be different and have different lifestyles, so the need for these alternative ways to buy a house is perfectly understandable. Everyone should explore them all, compare them with the usually offered home purchasing methods, and choose what is most convenient for them. Whenever you think something is impossible, just look hard enough for a solution, and you might find the optimal one.