If you are new to the home buying experience it can be incredibly overwhelming. Your attention is being pulled in a lot of different directions and you might not be sure where to start. You have to find a house, find a mortgage, and see how it all fits together. But, buying a house doesn’t have to be an overwhelming experience.
To help get started in buying a house, consider the following steps.
Choose a lender
Before you get too far into the process of buying a house you need to talk to a mortgage lender. Make sure that you call several different lenders to compare the products that they’re offering along with their interest rates. You are going to be giving this person all of your personal and financial information so you want to make sure it is somebody that you trust.
Make sure your credit is ready
When you first start talking with the lender one of the initial steps they are going to want to take is running your credit report. Your lender wants to see that you have a good credit score and that you are making payments on time.
The higher your score is the better your chances of being approved for a mortgage along with receiving a low interest rate. The higher the risk you are, the higher your interest rate will be as well.
Get pre-approved
Before you start looking at houses you want to talk to your lender to get pre-approved. You are going to see how much of a house you can actually afford so you don’t waste time looking at things outside of your budget. Being pre-approved also makes you more appealing to a seller.
Separate your needs from your wants
Chances are you have a long list of things that you’re looking for in your house. But many times, buyers have to compromise on what they are able to buy.
To make this process easier, make sure that you have a separate list for what you “need” in a home and a separate list of what you “want” in a home.
Start looking for a house
Once you reach this point of the process you get to start looking at houses. This usually starts off as an exciting time but can quickly become frustrating if you end up looking at many houses without finding one that you want to buy.
But, if you stick with it, before you know it you will find the house that you have been searching for.
Make an offer
When you find a home that you’re ready to move forward with its time to get to work writing an offer. You will want to take into consideration the comps in the area to help you determine the correct price for your offer.
Obtain your mortgage
Once your offer is accepted you need to start working with your lender to get your mortgage application approved. Make sure you have all your documents ready, so you can go through this process as quickly as possible. During this time, you also need to do due diligence such as home inspections and home appraisals.
When you complete these steps you are well on your way to closing. When the title company and the lender have dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s you will be ready to close on the house. At this point you will hand over the money from your mortgage and the seller will give you the keys and you are officially a homeowner!
