Tips for Buying Your First Home:
Preparatory steps you can take in an effort to simplify the
home shopping | purchasing process
Buying your first home can seem overwhelming. Though it may
be the last thing you need, sometimes it may seem as if your
mind just wants to shut down. Rather, you need to keep your
wits about you and to keep track of the details that could
come back to haunt you later if you fail to take them into
account. Often our desire for a home blinds us to the truth
about it.
First, before you make an offer inspect the house thoroughly.
If you cannot afford a professional inspector, at least take
a skeptical friend or neighbor to look at the house and instruct
them to point out all the flaws they see or the potential
problems that they find. The last thing you want is to be
trapped in a money pit simply because you were unable to see
the problems that were right in front of you.
Get pre-approved for a loan. Request a letter from your lender’s
agent saying that you are pre-approved to purchase a home
for up to a certain amount. Having a pre-approval puts you
in a stronger position with a seller. If you really want to
be in the strongest position possible, get a pre-qualification
from your lender. A pre-qualification is a letter is a letter
from your lender saying that you have definitely been qualified
for a loan – it is equivalent to having money in the
bank.
Shop around from home. Should you have an Internet connection,
then it is advised that you use it. Look for homes for sale
in the neighborhood. Get a feel for what’s out there
and what things are selling for. Don’t become so enamored
of one house that you are blind to everything else. Sure the
house you want many be close to perfect, if you have a better
idea of the neighborhood and what else is available you’ll
be a better informed shopper.
Never forget that the broken is working for the seller. Most
good brokers try to cozy up to the buyer and become the buyer’s
“friend.” But never forget that it is the seller
who hired the broker to find a buyer for the property and
it is the seller who pays the broker’s 6 percent commission
– so who do you think the broker is looking out for?
Buying a home is stressful, but if you keep a few of these
thoughts in mind then hopefully the task won’t be too
daunting. |
