What to do before buying your first home

Buying your first home is an exciting time in your life. It’s also one of the largest purchases you may ever make, and perhaps your most important investment. So before you hit open houses, follow these first-time home-buying tips and make sure you know the answers to these questions.

1. What are you looking for in a home?

As a first-time home buyer, it’s important to remember that your home should first meet your needs, and then your wants. For example, you may want a two-story home, but you’ll need to decide if that is a must have or a nice to have. Take into account the ongoing costs of certain features, such as maintaining a large yard. 2. Where do you want to live?
When you’re searching for a home, think about the neighborhood too. Narrow down your search by deciding whether you want to live downtown or in the suburbs. Before settling on a neighborhood, talk to people in the community or research amenities, such as schools, shopping areas and local parks. After all, there’s a lot you can do to tailor your home to your needs, but little you can do to change the neighborhood.

3. How much can you comfortably afford?
There are more expenses involved with buying your first home than just the down payment and monthly mortgage payment. Closing costs, home owner’s insurance, home owner’s association fees (if applicable), utilities, and ongoing maintenance are a few items you should consider in addition to your monthly payment. Talk to a mortgage loan officer to see how much you pre-qualify for, and consider how much you can afford to borrow. Make sure you’ll still be able to afford your other debts, such as student loans, credit cards, and car payments.

4. Taking the next step
Once you’ve prequalified, or discussed your home search with a Mortgage Loan Officer, finding a real estate professional who listens and understands your needs as a first-time home buyer can help ensure you find the right home. Find out if the real estate professional knows the neighborhood you’re interested in and is familiar with trends and prices in the area.

Tags: buying first home, Buying home

Posted by FinanceAZ on Mar 12 2010. Filed under Real estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry