So You Want to Buy a Home – Now What?
Congratulations! You’ve actually taken the first step towards home ownership: thinking about buying a home.
While many people “wish” they could someday own their house, fewer than you’d think actually get past that step.
Note: regardless of what you read in the newspaper, see on TV, or hear on the radio, people are still buying homes! In fact, it’s probably a better time to buy a home right now than it ever has been, if you can afford it. And guess what – you probably can!
The first question you should ask yourself is “Do I want to be a home owner?” It might surprise you that not everyone wants to own a house. Some people have jobs that travel from city to city or even overseas, and they don’t want to be bogged down with the duties associated with being a home owner. Other people don’t like the responsibility of making house repairs and having to manage the utilities or city ordinances.
For whatever reasons, not everyone will be a home owner in their lifetime.
Let me put that in a different way:
Everyone could be a homeowner, but not everyone will.
After you’ve made the choice that home ownership is right for you, where do you go from there?
You’ve all heard the term “Ready, Willing, and Able” right? Well buying your first home follows a similar path of “Able, Ready, and Willing”.
Since the tightening of the mortgage industry after 2006, people are finding it harder and harder to obtain a loan in order to buy their house. Some of these tighter standards were absolutely necessary to clean up the sub-prime lending mess form the early 2000’s. Other restrictions have been put in place to protect investors who front the money for home loans.
Regardless of your perceived financial situation, you should always – I repeat: ALWAYS – contact a lender and have your credit score evaluated along with your debts, income, and assets. Knowing your buying power is key to finding a time and place to buy your home.
After you’ve met with your lender, it’s essential that you talk to a Licensed Professional Realtor. Their job is to look out for your best interest and make sure you have all the information necessary to purchase the right home. If you only meet with one or two Agents, make sure you ask them some questions to see if they’re right for you.
Don’t get too hung up on whether they’ve sold 100 homes in the past year or live in your neighborhood. A good Agent will be able to make you feel comfortable and educate you through the process. Besides, the busier the Agent, the less time they’ll have to devote towards your search.
The next step is to start getting MLS listings sent your email and begin to look at homes in person. Pictures online may look nice, but driving the area and seeing the home up close are the best ways to figure out which types of properties you’ll want to buy.
Once you find a great house, you and your agent will put in an offer, and negotiate with the seller on price, terms, seller contributions, and a closing date.
Then you’ll be on your whirlwind tour of signing documents, getting an inspection, and setting up utilities for your move-in date.
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