Buying Your First Home
Rule number one is to get pre-approved before you do anything. The worst thing to do is to look at houses that are way out of your price range and then find out from the bank that your eyes are bigger than your budget.
This only leads to frustration for you and your real estate agent. Typically when first-time home-buyers look at really nice houses, they get it stuck in their head that they have to have a lot of square-footage, new appliances, and have everything completely upgraded.
Unless you’re really successful at a young age and have an impeccable credit score, the odds are that all of those luxuries will not be available to you. Even if you’re just looking at those big houses “for fun,” don’t. You will undoubtedly start to lust over those features that are inside of the newer homes.
Instead of causing yourself this much emotional pain from not being able to have what you got a small taste of in open houses, find out your budget and only look at houses that fit within it. This will allow you to see only what your money can buy, and you won’t be influenced by unreasonable wants of expensive features.
After finding out the loan amount that you are pre-approved for, make sure that you have a steady job that allows you to make the payments on your home-loan every month. This is crucial to keeping your house and making sure that your credit score does not suffer.
If you do not have a steady job, do not buy a house because it will only be a financial burden that will undoubtedly cause you a great deal of stress. And failure to make timely payments every month will cause your credit score to suffer, which could prevent you from buying a house in the future.
If you do default on your loan, you will force the bank to foreclose on your home, leaving you without a roof over your head, and without the credit to be able to buy a new house. This bad mark on your credit score can take you up to eight years to fix, making it a very costly mistake.
Another thing to look for in a house is something that will appreciate in value. First-time home buyers who want a completely upgraded house are missing out a great opportunity to build equity on their home.
A house for sale that requires some minor repairs will be on the market for fairly cheap compared to upgraded houses of the same size. Taking on a project will reduce your overall costs of buying, and will give you the opportunity to do what you want with the space.
Small renovations on a home can go a long way in terms of resale value. As a first-time home buyer, it is in your best interest to purchase a home that you can make minor repairs or renovations to. The added value of your sweat equity will allow you to sell your home for a profit and move into a bigger and better home.
The final thing to consider when buying a home is to find the right location. Do you want to live in the city or the suburbs? Do you have kids and want them to be in a good school district or do you want to be close to your job? Do you prefer the beach or the country? All of these factors are very important when deciding on a home to buy.
Location will be a large factor when buying, and will likewise be important when selling as well. Find a good location that suits your needs, and will also be easy to put on the market if and when you decide to move.
When buying your first home make sure you do all of the paperwork before-hand to make sure you are eligible to buy a home financially. Buying a house is an investment, make sure you make it a sound one that you can support and will be a benefit to you in the future.
Jack R. Landry has worked in real estate since 1988 as an expert on home buying and construction. He has written hundreds of articles on real estate and home construction including new homes Utah.
Contact Info:
Jack R. Landry
JackRLandry@gmail.com
http://www.alwaysaffordablehomes.com
