Buying Your First Home:Six Things to Consider
Apr 6th, 2008 by Kaushik Adhikary
Buying a lovely home is everyone’s dream. Its my dream too. I often come across some of acquaintances and friends who, most of the time make some common mistakes buying a home. I am not so sure how far my suggestions will help you in fulfilling your dream, especially if its your first home. But I can try my level best to provide you some tips so that you’ll be in a better position in your attempt.
There are a lot of things probably you don’t know and some of the terms, relating to real estate arena that you’ve never heard before. People often fear to take risk what they don’t understand. I respect their feelings. But you’ve to take risks at some points of your life. When you educate yourself sufficient enough before purchasing your best home, you at least are come out with the best deal.
Perhaps you would agree that buying your home will be the biggest investment you will ever make. And if it is your first one, your can’t deny that you would be solely responsible for this investment. Please don’t take it otherwise. Anyway, I’m putting in some of my home buying tips here that would definitely help you a lot .
At the outset, do some research and be fully prepared before beginning your search for a home. Here are the six steps you should take before buying:
1) Before doing your home search, think carefully about what you’ll eventually get after possessing your homeownership. For majority of people, home ownership is an integral part of a person’s dream apart from tax benefits, sense of home, financial investment.
2) Aware of your credit score. This is the first thing a lender is going to look at. If you eventually be an American, your FICO score will range from 400 on the low end to 850 on the high end, the higher the better. Contact one of the best credit-reporting agencies to obtain your credit report and make sure it is accurate and authentic. If it isn’t, you’ll need to contact the credit agencies to resolve this. You would better work with a credit repair agency, otherwise you may be in th wrong hand and sucked as there are a lot of scam artists out there, especially online.
3) Know your finances. Perhaps your down payment may be a big barrier towards your homeownership. There are a lot of different loan/mortgage institutions out there that offer low down payment options. You need to work with a quality mortgage broker or banker to find out what would work best for your situation. And do some research to find out any government backed loan/housing scheme that would be a great way to step into your first home.
4) Whenever you meet with a good mortgage broker or banker, ask them to pre-approve you, not pre-qualify you. Pre-approval is an actual underwriting of your file, be it manual or auto-underwrite that will let you know how much you can actually spend on a house and up to what rate you would be able to get by. This means you will have to provide your income documentation, credit, and various other documents required by the lender to actually underwrite your file. When you are ready to make an offer on a home, you’re in a more better position to bargain over someone who is just pre-qualified.
5) Look for any down payment assistance programs, with the help of mortgage broker or banker that may be available . They should have come out with an idea of what would be the best for you. There are many programs out there run by counties and cities and other governmental agencies. The trick is to know about them, first, and then to see if you qualify for them.
6) Look out for first-time home buyer classes. Many lenders, nonprofit organizations, and Realtors offer home buyer education classes. These will walk you through the process of applying for a loan, working with a Realtor, making an offer, going to escrow (closing), and various other responsibilities associated with owning your own home.
If you follow these six steps outlined above, you’ll definitely be well on your way to homeownership! Its better to ask lots of questions and make sure you understand exactly what is happening around you. Get suggestions from people you trust. Good luck.
