It is extremely important to contact a mortgage loan officer before you decide to start looking for homes. Why? Very simple, there are many factors that the lenders need to know about you in order to qualify you for a mortgage loan. For example, you may have a perfect credit, but what about income and debt? There are also other factors that are important, your marital status, place of work compared to where you want to live, and other information that you may think is not even important but only your lender will know. The professional lender knows how to sort out all the possible problems that may prevent you from getting the best possible loan. Once you are pre-qualified you can start looking for houses with confidence. To know more about what you will need to qualify for a loan go to Qualifying for a loan. 2.- Consider at least five different areas where you would like to live. We all want to live in the best possible area we can afford. Sometimes the price range we are qualified for prevent us from buying a home in our ideal area. By being flexible about the areas you prefer, you are making it easier for your agent to find something that you will be happy with. 3.- Hire an inspector before you sign the final papers. Hiring a professional home inspector means knowing what you are buying. Don't expect to get a perfect report, specially if the home you are buying is not a new one. The sole purpose of a home inspection is to let you know the condition of the house so you know when and if you will need to address any problem in the future. This way you can decide in a knowledgeable way. Unless it is a major problem, don't let that scare you away from buying it. You should know that not all sellers can afford or are willing to make the repairs before you move in. And that's OK. When you buy real property you are buying more than just a house. You are buying an asset that in most cases will make you earn equity, that means money to you! So you see, just the fact that you will become a home owner has a great value already even when the house have some flaws. 4.- See the potential.. Your first house may not be your dream house. Many times when we buy a house for the first time we get a little disappointed when we don't get our "dream house" at once. But don't be discourage. If you put your mind to it you will eventually buy your dream home one day. Most of the times first-time buyers buy a house that is the one they can afford at the time but have in mind that they will jump into a better house next time after selling this first house and using the money possibly earned in equity combined with some savings. So you see, getting to that special dream house may take some patience for some people, but ahh how proud you will be to accomplish your dream home once you get there! 5.- Be loyal to your agent! Sometimes you may think that your agent is doing nothing for you when days pass by and you don't hear from them. But you should know that most of the work the agent have to do take long hours of working together with lenders, title companies, escrow companies, other agents etc. All of these to get the information they require to make your purchase a reality. When searching for a property the agent not only has to find the perfect house for you in the right location and at the right price but also they have to deal with the competition, that is other buyers willing to buy your same house, they have to make sure that the house will be available to you and no one else will make a better offer than the one you can afford. So be patient and be loyal, because I can tell you by personal experience, there's nothing more discouraging than putting a lot of effort and negotiating long hours to get the right property for a buyer and then finding out that they have been working with someone else. It is your right to choose who you want to work with and that's why I advice you to search for someone experienced and with the best reputation, before you hire who will represent you in this important decision, this way you will feel confident that you are being treated with professionalism, courtesy and honesty and your patience will be greatly rewarded once you obtain the keys of your new home. 6.- If possible put at least 20% down payment. Whenever possible try to invest at least 20% for the down payment, this way you can avoid having to pay mortgage insurance. There are many programs where you only will need as little as 1-3% for the down payment, sometimes you can also be able to finance 100% of the purchase, that means no down payment, but don't forget, if you apply for any of these low or no down payment programs you will end up paying mortgage insurance. So it's up to you to decide. If the deal is too good sometimes could be a good idea to take advantage of these just mentioned programs. With home values going up and up in the recent years it makes sense to try to own a house as soon as possible. 7.- Know the different ways to take title. Most people leave it to their Title Company or Escrow to decide how to take title on the new purchase. Here you can learn the different options you have. Most Common Ways of Holding Title. |
Contact me at:
CGGutierrez@SuCasaHomeLoans.com
CGGutierrez@SuCasaHomeLoans.com
Seven important things that every First-time Home buyer should know |
CARMEN G. GUTIERREZ Over 16 years of experience in the Real Estate and Mortgage lending field (909)921-4206 Professionalism and Honesty at your service |
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