Ok, so you're ready to buy a home. You've spent hours on the internet looking at homes in your area. Before you even THINK about calling an agent and asking them to chauffer you around on the weekend, do yourself a big, huge favor.
CALL A LOAN OFFICER. Do not go to INeedALoanNowPlease.com. Call a real, live loan officer that works for a bank that will still be here next week. I know that might be a little tricky right now, as seemingly invincible outfits are going under. If you're not sure whom to call, ask a real estate agent. If they're good, they'll be keeping up with who's begging the feds for money and who's not.
Be prepared to answer some personal questions. Long gone are the days of you saying you earn $100,000 per year and they just believe you. You'll actually have to document this stuff. So have your tax forms, bank statements, and credit card statements handy.
And if you really want to be prepared, get a copy of your credit report. Once a year, you can get a free copy from each of the three major credit-reporting agencies. I don't know about you, but I love free stuff. If it's free, it's for me. Go to http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to get your report.
Once you have your pre-qualification letter in hand, go ahead and start looking in earnest for your new home. You've already done one of the hardest parts of home buying: taking a good look at your finances to know your buying power. So go ahead and call an agent to show you some houses. Now kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and be sure to tune in next week. Hopefully I won't be in a turkey coma. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!
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