Buying your first home is both exciting and terrifying. Even the most prepared first time home buyers struggle to understand the home buying process and the laws governing it. Finding a great real estate professional will help you through the process and make sure you buy the best home for you. Here are some tips for buying your first home.
Learn About the Home Buying Process
If you watch a lot of HGTV you may understand the basics of buying a home – find a home you like, make and offer, offer is accepted, and then you move in. However, the process is a bit more complicated. Familiarize yourself with these major steps in the home buying process:
- Find a Realtor
- Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage
- Go to Showings and Open Houses
- Make an Offer
- Get Offer Accepted
- Get an Inspection
- Apply for Mortgage (a 30 day process)
- Close on Your Home
Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage
A mortgage pre-approval tells sellers that you’re a serious buyer. It also gives you a general idea of how much home the bank will let you buy. This process is simple, but finding a lender can be the hardest part. Try a reputable local mortgage broker to help you through the process – they often get great rates and can work around any issues (poor credit, type of home, etc.).
Establish a Budget
Once you get a pre-approval, you’ll have any idea of how much the mortgage lander is willing to lend you. This should not be your budget. Use one of the many online calculators and plug in your desired monthly payment to see how much home your monthly budget will afford you.
Decide What Type of Home You Want
There are many types of homes – single family homes, condos, townhouses, new construction, fixers, and more. Asking yourself these questions will help you figure out the best type of home for your situation:
- Are you ready to take on the maintenance responsibility of a single family home?
- Are you willing to pay a condo complex’s homeowners association fee for maintenance and other amenities?
- Do you want a yard?
- Do you want a driveway or garage?
- Do you want to do major renovations?
Check out this short quiz from Trulia to see what other questions to consider.
Writing out a list of “must-haves” and “nice-to-haves” will help your real estate agent find the best homes for you to check out.
Take an Experienced Homeowner to Showings
When you own a home you quickly learn what qualities in a home are truly important to you and your family. You also become more aware of the various issues in a home – water damage, structural damage, insect activity, and other costly or dangerous issues. Your realtor will have great insight into these issues, but having another perspective can also be helpful. If you have friends or family members who own a home, ask them to come to open houses or showings with you for another perspective. They may be able to point out issues or benefits that you haven’t thought about.