Are you in the planning stages to buy your first home in Lake Elmo, MN? There are a few things that I would like to share with you about Lake Elmo real estate to help ensure you avoid some of the biggest mistakes many first time home buyers make. With some very basic preparation you can avoid some of the most painful pitfalls.

City of Lake Elmo

With just a little over 8,000 residents residing amidst private neighborhoods and farmland, Lake Elmo has a small town feel despite its proximity to St. Paul. Located within Washington County, residents in Lake Elmo have a brief commute to most of the major employers of Saint Paul, MN. Much of Lake Elmo is part of the Stillwater school district. If you're looking for homes for sale in Lake Elmo, please don't hesitate to give me a call.

1) Get prequalified for mortgage financing first! I have met far too many first time buyers who find a home first, only to find out they do not yet qualify for financing. It can be an extraordinarily painful experience to go through the work of finding the ideal home only to find out you are not yet ready to qualify for a home loan. You can get preapproved with my preferred MN mortgage lender right over the phone. There is no cost and no obligation so why not start the process of preapproval immediately?

2) Get educated about the whole process of home buying early on. You can learn a great deal at a first time home buyer seminar or at a Home Stretch Worshop available through many communities around the Twin Cities. There is so much to know about the home buying process that it is well worth it to learn as much as you can, as early as you can.

3) Get a house inspection on the house you are planning to buy. While a home inspection is not required it can sometimes reveal major potential problems in the home before you are fully committed to the purchase. You can negotiate a transaction with a contingency upon a satisfactory home inspection so that if the inspection reveals problems, you can back out of the transaction within a specified period of time. Some first time buyers will skip buying the house inspection because of the cost involved. I think the cost of the inspection is a great value when compared to making a purchase of a home with so many problems that it becomes a money pit.

4) Please take care of your credit after preapproval for mortgage financing. After you have received your preapproval for mortgage financing your MN mortgage company still might need to check your credit again. Make your payments on time and do not open up new debts. You should avoid additional credit inquiries after your preapproval application to avoid potential problems with your credit score.

5) Do not spend your down payment money prior to the closing on your home purchase. Your mortgage banker will give you a good faith estimate at loan application showing how much money you will need at closing. Make sure to save your money so that you're not caught in a bind on the day of closing.

First Step In The Process

For many Minnesota first time home buyers the intimidating question is where do I start? Your very first step to home ownership is to get preapproved for a first time buyer's mortgage. By doing so you find out how much of a loan you are qualified for so that we can research homes in a price range with comfortable payments for you.

Casey Anderson
Sales Executive, Licensed Realtor in Minnesota
IBR Realty
caseyanderson@ibrrealty.com
Cell 651-245-1820
Woodbury, MN 55125
With a focus on Woodbury homes for sale and surrounding communities.