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Saving for a down payment can be a challenge, imagine having to do so without a steady paycheck. This is a struggle many small business owners & freelancers face when embarking in their home buying journey. Learn more about the best practices to save for a home without a steady paycheck in this RealEstate.com article by Stefanie O’Connell.
Buying a home is a major money milestone and saving up a down payment can feel daunting. If you’re a freelancer, business owner or gig economy worker without a steady paycheck, saving up can be even more challenging.
Uneven cash flow and income fluctuations can make it hard to commit to regular savings transfers. And lean months may require you to withdraw money from savings to cover your bills, making it difficult to make meaningful progress toward your major savings goals.
Despite these challenges, saving up for a home is still possible for non-salaried workers. And it’s increasingly a reality for many individuals as the gig and freelance economy continues to grow.
So here are some best practices to keep in mind so you can commit to achieving your money milestone goals, like buying a home, regardless of the way you get paid.
Calculate how much home you can afford based on your freelance earnings. You might not know how much you’re going to make from month to month, but you do need to know how much money you can afford to pay toward a mortgage from month to month.
So sit down and take a look at your finances to figure out what consistent expenses you can commit to, even with your inconsistent income.
Once you figure out the monthly mortgage you can afford, you can get a sense of your housing price range and work from there to calculate how much you’ll need for a down payment.
Keep in mind that as an independent contractor, a bigger down payment may improve your chances of getting approved for a home loan. So consider homes where you can put down a greater portion of the purchase price.
Once you’ve set a savings goal for your home down payment, open up a dedicated savings account for these funds. Having money for your various savings needs in one place can make it tempting to withdraw the funds needed for your home down payment for other reasons — like a vacation or a smartphone upgrade.
Putting your down payment savings in a separate account can keep you on track as you build towards your savings goal and help put some distance between you and your money, so you’re not tempted to spend it impulsively elsewhere.
Labeling your dedicated home savings account can also help remind you what you’re saving for so that you stay motivated throughout the savings process.
Take your commitment a step further by setting up a recurring automatic transfer from your checking account to your home down payment savings account each week, so that you continue to make progress on your savings goal regardless of your cash flow for the month.
Set yourself up with a weekly salary by depositing a regular amount from your business account to your personal account every week or two, regardless of how much your business or freelance work actually brings in.
This can bring some consistency to your personal finances, and help when it comes time to apply for a mortgage by showing lenders a more regular income.
It might take some time to adjust your budget to the changes and figure out exactly what your salary should be, but giving yourself a regular “paycheck” can go a long way in helping you better plan your finances and get in the habit of saving for your major money goals – like your down payment.
Continue reading the full article HERE.
Lennar and Amazon have teamed up and recently announced the opening of interactive Amazon Experience Centers within select Lennar model homes across the United States, including Mountain Crest Community. Now customers in the area can experience first-hand the convenience of Alexa smart home experience and more in a real home environment. Learn more about Lennar’s connected homes and the future of smart home technology in this recent Curbed Atlanta article by Karon Warren.
In a new partnership designed to create a “smart home lifestyle,” Amazon and homebuilder Lennar have come together to launch Amazon Experience Centers, home communities outfitted with smart-home technology so residents can “live life with hands-free convenience,” according to Amazon.
Georgia’s first Amazon Experience Center is taking shape in Cumming in the Mountain Crestcommunity, which, when completed, will feature 674 homes divided up into different neighborhoods based on housing structure.
For instance, Stablegate is a collection of townhomes ranging from 2,300 square feet to 2,500 square feet, with prices in the high $200,000s.
In Bridlewood, ranch homes are available starting with 1,683 square feet and reaching 2,117 square feet, with pricing in the low $300,000s.
The Lennar real estate site doesn’t say much about the home’s building features, but instead focuses on the Amazon capabilities found within.
Every home will be outfitted with an entire suite of Amazon products, including an Echo Show (video screen), Echo Dot, Sonos One (wireless speaker), Baldwin Evolved Smart Lock, Honeywell Lyric Round Wi-Fi Thermostat 2.0, Lutron Smart Bridge Pro (smart shades, lights, etc.), Ring Video Doorbell, and Samsung Smartthings Hub.
Neighborhood amenities will include a large, chalet-chic clubhouse with Olympic-sized swimming pool, second splash pool with double-loop water slide, tennis and pickleball courts, enclosed children’s play park, and personal residence yard maintenance.
With 120 homes sold thus far, Amazon and Lennar say these offerings are geared toward the way people are living today.
“Homebuyers appreciate that the technology is built right in to the home so they can just move in and experience a new way of living,” says Casey Hill, Lennar’s division president for Atlanta. “Lennar is great at building homes, and Amazon is great at bringing them to life. We share an obsession for great customer experiences, so this is a natural fit.”
In fact, Hill says this approach will be the future of homebuilding for his company. “This is how Lennar will build homes going forward: designed for the way people live,” he says. “Our goal is to upgrade our buyers’ lives.”
While Lennar, and possibly Amazon, will continue to build homes outfitted with smart home technology, the real question is if and when other homebuilders will follow suit.
Could a potential partnership between Google and another homebuilder be on the horizon? Time will tell.
Amazon Experience Centers are now open in Lennar model homes in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC with more coming soon. Customers can experience just how easy it can be to reorder household essentials with a press of an Amazon Dash Button, listen or watch Prime content with Fire TV or schedule on-demand home services through Amazon Home Services. Customers can visit a model home in person or learn more by going to amazon.com/experience. Learn more in this Fortune article by Grace Donnelly.
Amazon wants customers to give the Alexa a try, so they’ve partnered with Lennar to include the voice-activated technology in all their new homes.
The homebuilding company partnered with Amazon to create “Experience Centers” in their model homes that will allow customers to interact with the suite of Amazon devices — including Dash buttons, Alexa, and Echo — in a more natural living environment.
“This will be the hallmark of why we buy a new home,” David Kaiserman, president of Lennar Ventures, told USA Today. “It’s an important step in the mass adoption of all these technologies.”
Amazon chose to work with Lennar because it can showcase the Alexa experience within driving distance of millions of customers, Nish Lathia, general manager at Amazon Services, told Dallas News.
The model homes will be staffed with Amazon employees who can show customers the range of the company’s device offerings.
“We wanted customers to experience a real home environment that showcases the convenience of the Alexa smart home experience, great entertainment available with Prime, and Home Services,” Bhavnish Lathia, general manager, Amazon Services, said in a statement to TechCrunch. “We are excited to extend our relationship with Lennar with the launch of Amazon Experience Centers. As one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, Lennar offers the potential to enable this experience within easy driving distance of millions of customers.”
Amazon Alexa Will Come Built-In to All New Homes From Lennar via Fortune
