You’re not ready to buy a house if you …

• Have bad credit; clean it up, then go in for the house.

• Haven’t had a stable source of income for at least two years.

• Have just started a new job, or your current job is about to end.

• Have an unstable relationship with your house-buying partner.

• Have had trouble paying rent or other bills.

• Are feeling transient. Two or three years ago, nearly anyone in Reno could buy a home and expect it to appreciate within a year or two. Not so now. We are in a “flat” market, which means home prices are appreciating about 4-7 percent annually—not the 20-50 percent of yesteryear. Equity comes to the patient these days. It’s generally not worth it to move into a new home and leave in a year.