6 Tips For First Time Home Buyers.

Have you been thinking about buying your first home? Well, you came to the right place. I’m going to be answering some questions first time home buyers ask, and give some tips. Buying a home is probably one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll come across in life. So of course you want to make sure you make a great educated choice. Let’s dive in.

         Look At The Different Loan Options.

There are many different loan types you can get for your home. Conventional, USDA, FHA, etc. A lender can help walk you through the different loans, which we will talk about next. These loans all have different down payments from 0%-20%. Also, they all have different rules and regulations. Take the time and google those loans and figure out which one works best in your situation.  

How Much Can I Afford? Getting Pre-approved.

Figuring this out first can take a lot of wasted time off your plate. If you don’t get pre-approved first you can be looking at homes way out of your budget. Or you think you can not afford much so you’re looking at homes that are cheaper that you don’t like when in all reality, you can afford more. Getting pre-approved should be one of the first things you do. If you find a real estate agent first, he/she should be able to give you info for a few lenders. Shop around, find the best interest rate, etc. A lender can give you an idea of how much cash you’ll need at closing, which will help you budget until you close to make sure you keep that amount of money needed. Being pre-approved first also helps when you find the perfect home. You won’t have to wait to get a pre-approval letter to put in an offer, you’ll already have one. If you’re paying cash, you still want to make sure you know exactly how much home you can afford without breaking the bank. To add on, you’ll want to figure out, after everything is said and done do you still have an emergency fund? Of course this isn’t necessary but it is a good idea in case the home needs a little work. Don’t go broke trying to buy a house. 

Finding A Real Estate Agent.

If you got pre-approved without a real estate agent, now is the time to go find one. Ask friends, family, google, do your own research on real estate agents. You want to make sure you find one that will best serve your needs. Your lender can probably give you a few names of agents in the area. This, as well as everything else, is very important. Your real estate agent is going to be the one showing you homes, putting in offers, negotiating on your behalf, etc. make sure you find one that will help you with the whole process.

Looking At Homes.

Here is where the fun happens. First, you should make a list of your wants vs. needs. What can you live without?  What needs to be in the home or it’s a no deal? Making this list ahead of time already helps you when looking for the perfect house. Also, find out exactly where you want to live. What towns? Is there a radius around your work you’d prefer to live so it’s a short commute? Answer and write all these down so you don't forget anything when you start looking.
Stick To Your Budget.

Remember how I said to get pre-approved. Scenario time: You’re pre-approved for a $200,000 home loan. You’ve come to the conclusion you only want to buy a house in the $150,000 range or less, because the mortgage payment is just right at that price point. A home comes on the market for $200,000, and you love it. You know if you purchase it your monthly payment will just be too high. You can do the payment, but you won’t have much money left over at the end of the month. You decide no deal because you STUCK WITH YOUR BUDGET. Again, don’t go broke trying to buy a house! Owning a home is an awesome accomplishment, but you want to make sure you can still live a happy, normal life even with a monthly mortgage payment.

Get A Home Inspection.

Let’s wrap things up here with a great tip. Get a home inspection. If you’re paying cash or your loan doesn’t require an inspection to be done, get one anyway. This can help uncover problems you and I cannot see. Also, you want to make sure to ask what all the inspectors look at when they inspect the home. So that, if you feel other inspections also need done you can get those scheduled as well. Doing this will help you find ease in knowing you got the right house for you.

That is all I have today. I’ll definitely be doing more first time home buyer tips in the future, but I want to touch on some very important first and last steps.

Looking for a real estate agent in Western, PA? Contact me, I’d love to help!