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When purchasing a home, you are faced with a multitude of decisions! The primary one is whether you are actually prepared to purchase a home. Locating the perfect home is not always an easy task, and obtaining a mortgage loan can be a complex and tiring process. Although, once you have determined that you are ready to move forward with the required effort towards your home-purchasing goal, the rewards are unquestionable. Your First Step Your first step to buying a home is to first ask yourself why you want to buy a home: to stop paying rent? To start building equity? To have a place of your own? To raise a family? To entertain business associates? To move up to a bigger house? Next, list what kind of home you'd like and where you would like to be. Be specific. Separate the "must haves" from the "want to haves." Think of yourself as zeroing in on a target, going from the general to the specific. Consider area (city, suburban neighborhood, country); community (north, south, east, or west side); neighborhood (older and settled or sparkling new; a particular school zone; recreational facilities; and other community services such as transportation, day care, library, stores, entertainment). Ask yourself how many minutes you are willing to commute to work. Think about home styles. How much space do you need? Does your situation require a one-level home, or are stairs acceptable? Consider size and kind of property. Do you want a newer home, or maybe an older one to fix up? Consider how long you expect to live in this particular home. Your Next Step: Loan Pre-Qualification Your next step in the purchasing process is to get pre-qualified with a mortgage company. This can be done over the phone or even online in a matter of minutes. This will allowed you to find out what you can afford to buy base on your available funds and earning power. Remember to Shop for your Financing. I will help you complete your financing and inspections, and close on the transaction. My top priority is to make sure that your home buying experience is pleasant, cost-efficient, and successful.
Your largest cost at the beginning is your down payment. As a first time buyer, this would likely represent only 5 - 10% of the purchase price. However, you should be prepared to pay for additional costs, such as:
Additionally, once you have purchased your home, you will incur regular expenses on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Some of these costs include:
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