You have gotten to a place in life where it is time to put down some roots. You have been thinking things over for a while, waiting for what you hoped would be the perfect time and now, you can’t see how you could be any more ready. You are wanting to buy your first home.
Buying your first home can be a confusing and difficult process if you don’t have the proper help. Like any kind of major life event, trying to go it alone without the advice and aid of an expert by your side will very likely not end very well for you. Realtors help make the home buying process straightforward and as smooth as possible.
New a third of people who are looking to buy a new home are first time home buyers. Many of them are not clear on some of the basic things they need to have in place in order to successfully purchase the type of home they desire. Your local realtor can bring you up to speed on what is available in the area you are looking in, but there are some things you should do before jumping ahead in your mind to the settlement. Here are three things every first time home buyer should know.
What do you need?
Before you even sit down with a realtor, have a good idea of what kind of home you think you need. There are many different types of homes you can buy. You could opt for a traditional, single-family home; a condo or apartment, depending on where you live; maybe a townhouse. What you want to do at this stage is think about why you would be buying it. Do you want to fix it up and flip it? Do you want to raise your children in it and be there for the next thirty years or more?
What does it look like?
You know the type of home you are going to need and now is the time to figure out what it will look like. What specific features will your home have and how will you know when you have found it? Your list here should include the basic desires you have. Do you know what neighborhood you would like to be in? Do you need everything on one level? You should even try to get down to the basics if you can, like what your kitchen might look like and where the bathrooms should be.
When you have a vision, you have a clear sense of what you are looking for. All of the top realtors will tell you to make this type of features list while at the same time cautioning you to make sure that list is somewhat flexible. The third thing will explain why.
What do you qualify for?
When you go to the grocery store, you don’t just put everything you want into the cart, take it to the checkout line and see how much of it you can afford to take home after the cashier rings you up. You go in knowing what you can spend–how much you can afford. the same is true with buying a property.
Before you actually do any serious looking at specific properties, it is a good idea to find out how much you will qualify for should you need to get a mortgage. Several different factors play into how much that might be. Your income to debt ratio, for example, is one factor that comes into play. How long you have been at your current job is another.
The internet has made the home buying experience a much simpler one in many ways. At one point or another, 44% of home buyers look for their homes online. There are many to see and taking virtual tours from your computer or smartphone has made it much simpler to dream big. At the same time, nothing beats the in-person help given by an expert.
More than three-quarters of the home buyers out there have found a real estate professional to be of great service to them in guiding them to a successful home purchase. When you are ready, give a professional realtor a call.