If you think you are ready to buy a home and this is your first time buying a home there are many tips for preparation before contacting a professional Realtor.
1. Do some research online, read some books, ask some friends or family but do have a plan.
2. Save, save for a down payment, in most all cases you will have to have some type of down payment for most loans that are available. Find out what they are and save your money.
3. Credit, make sure you have established some credit or cleaned up your credit report, check it to make sure there are no for seen things that have popped up that you have taken care of that show up or that you have not incurred that have need to be removed from your report.
4. Make sure if you are buying with another party, husband, wife, friend, sister, brother etc..... that you are on the same page about what you want in a home including the location of the home. This is important that you have all these things worked out so your home search with a Realtor is much smoother.
5. Budget is very important, determine your budget and what you are comfortable paying monthly on a mortgage and make sure it doesn't leave you with empty pockets for surprise things such as illness, major repairs or just having money for other bills and maybe even some savings. Don't forget to add in taxes and insurance, those two can make a major difference in a monthly payment and are often forgotten in the excitement of finding that perfect home.
6. Find the area you want to live in and visit that area at different times of the day or night and determine what routes you can take to get places like work, shopping and school.
7. Find out all the out of pocket expenses you will incur during the 30 day period of buying a home. Buyers will have out of pocket expenses that are required before closing on a home such as appraisals and home inspections.
8. Find a professional Realtor that you can trust and let them know that you have done your homework and you are ready to look but first...........................before you get in their car...........!
9. Go to a bank or mortgage broker and get pre-approved and have this in hand so that you are ready to go look at homes, this shows the Realtor that you are pre-qualified and have done your homework and are ready to go look at homes that you can afford.
10. Don't put the cart before the horse because at the end of the day you will not be able to purchase your dream home and your Realtor who has worked so hard to help you will not get paid.
Tip of the Day is: We all want to do a great job but given the tools to do that job and team work make all the difference in the world when it comes to success!
Comments(2)