Okay, you’re ready to buy your first home. There are myriad steps to cover before you write your first offer but first, let me relate to you a fairly common scenario called: The “Red Shoes Experience”- You decide that you need a new pair of red shoes, so you go to the mall. At the first shoe store, you find a fabulous pair of red shoes, and they fit perfectly. Do you buy them? Of course not! You go to every other store in the mall trying on red shoes until you are ready to drop from exhaustion. Then you return to the first store and buy those red shoes. Do not shop for a home this way.
When you find the home that fits you best, buy it. Statistics show that buyers find the house they want within the first 3-4 homes viewed. Of course, you may not find The Perfect Home unless you’re going for new construction (which I’ll get into in a later article), you’ll always have to put a little sweat equity into it to make it your own.
Your biggest question will be- are you financially ready? By now you should have been saving for the down payment but don’t worry if you qualify there are down payment assistance programs available to help you. Other areas you need to consider are your income, your debts- like car loans, etc. and the all-important credit score. As with the down payment assistance programs, there are numerous loan types available and a good lender will help you find the right one that suits your specific needs like FHA, VA, USDA (gov’t backed loans), conventional and others.
Well, I hope you’re starting to form a plan for buying a home and in the next article, I’ll give you a “Needs List” of items which will help get you that pre-qualification letter. Of course, if you’re ready to find out more now, you’re welcome to contact me, phone, text or email.
