When it comes to buying your first home, you need to prepare yourself financially before you start house hunting. Here are a few steps to get you started. First, consider where you want to live. For many young adults, the location of that first home is a big consideration. Make sure the city you decide to buy in is a place you wouldn't mind staying for a while. Experts advise would-be buyers to plan on staying five to seven years. Second, figure out how much home you can afford. To find your housing budget, you need to determine the monthly payment you'd be comfortable making. You can use a mortgage calculator to "work backward" toward your purchase price. A mortgage pre-approval is also a great way to determine how much home you can afford. Third, know your credit score. It plays a big role in qualifying for a mortgage. Generally, the higher your score...the better the interest rate you can expect. A score of 740 or above is considered strong, but you can still qualify for a range of options with a score between 600 and 740. If you check your credit report early, you will have enough time to change any bad spending habits and correct any issues.

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Tesla’s profit fell in third quarter even as sales rose
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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