Renter to Homeowner

For many renters who are considering moving out of an apartment so they can have their own home can be scary.  The first thing I would recommend to renters is to do a drive through of neighborhoods and tour some open houses in these neighborhoods.  This way you start to get a feel for each neighborhood.  If you still feel this may be the right thing for you to do, then contact a lender and realtor.  You may need ti have a discussion with a realtor first, many times a real estate agent can recommend lenders to you.  The first thing all potential buyers need to do before getting involve in serious house hunting is get pre-approved by a lender.  Recommend interviewing multiply lenders within a 30 day period.  Following this procedure, will have less effect on your credit score.  Remember, each lender may have different mortgage programs and some lenders are more knowledgeable about programs that may help you in your situation.  After you are pre-approved, be sure you sit down with your real estate agent and do the following:  defined your home search criteria within the guidelines of your loan approval, insure your realtor has received a good faith estimate from your lender, have your agent explain the steps in the buying process, and make sure your agent provides a detail explanation how he is going to assist you through the transaction.  The assistance you will receive through the transaction should include upfront knowledge that identifies who will perform the work through the various phases of the transaction.  As a buyer, all of the above suggestions are important in order to have a successful transaction experience.