These days can be a good time for first time buyers to buy a house. Prices are at an all-time, historic low, and interest rates are on the down trend as well. Let's say for example that you're interested in acquiring Leland real estate. Before jumping straight to the fun part (shopping for Leland homes for sale), here are 10 things that would be useful for every home buyer to know:
1. Savings - While you think you may already be prepared for the monthly mortgage payments and the downpayment, it's important to shore up your finances a bit more so that you won't be wiped out completely when you buy a house. Also, there's the out of pocket expenses to think of. If you buy Leland real estate, for example, there's still the inspection cost, closing costs (which could make up 2%-3% of the sales price), etcetera.
2. Downpayment assistance - If you need assistance coming up with the downpayment, forseeing the need could help you come up with solutions. Asking help from relatives, for instance, or looking into FHA loans where instead of the traditional 20% downpayment, you could get a mortgage with 3.5% downpayment. Weigh your options wisely when it comes to preparing for the downpayment.
3. Check credit report - I could think of three reasons why you should check your credit report annually, especially towards the target date for you to buy a house. One is for you to know how your credit score is doing. Two, to check for any errors made on the information in your report. Three, to check if you've been victimized by identity theft.
4. Prequalify for a loan - Getting prequalified for a loan will give you a ballpark figure of how much a bank might be willing to loan you. This isn't enough to start a home search, though.
5. Get preapproved for a loan - The next step is getting preapproved for a loan, which is a bit more important than prequalification. It gives you an edge when it comes to making an offer too.
6. How much you can afford - Let's say you got preapproved for $300,000 when you applied for a mortgage. This doesn't mean that you should go off and look for $300,000 worth of Leland homes for sale. Stick to your budget, what you can afford, and what's comfortable for you to spend.
7. Home requirements - List down what you want and need in a home. Making a list may sound old fashioned but the truth is that it helps you narrow down the kind of house that you will want to look at. It helps your real estate agent find a home for you too.
8. Location - Pinning down a primary location where you want to find a house and a secondary location (in case you can't find a house in the primary location) also helps.
9. Hire an agent - Getting a real estate agent to help you work the system is a very useful, indispensible step in the home buying process if it's your first time to buy a house. Of course you can opt to do it yourself, but it's not going to make the process easy for you.
10. Home search - One thing you could to to make your home search go easier is to start it online. You can get your bearings, get ideas on home styles that are available in the area you prefer, and get you in touch with real estate agents along the way.
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