Owning a home is one of the most rewarding experiences that you can ever have. But, before you start looking through home listings and going to open houses there are a 4 steps which you will need to take to be ready to buy your dream house.
1. Check Your Credit
Your credit score will play a very big part in determining whether you qualify for a mortgage, the maximum loan amount, and the down payment which you will need in order to buy a home. The higher your credit score, the better the terms of the loan and the lower your interest rate.
If your credit scores are too low or aren’t as high as you would like them to be, you can hire a credit repair agency like CreditFirm.Net to help you increase your credit scores.
2. Find Your Price Range
If you’re like most people, your going to need to fit your monthly mortgage payment into your budget. Figure out what you can afford to pay every month on your home and extrapolate that into the total price of the home which you will be looking for. This is where the down payment and interest rate comes into play. The better your credit score, the lower the down payment and interest rate, and the more you will be able to afford.
3. Get Pre-Approved
Find an experienced Loan Officer/ Mortgage Broker who will be able to get you pre-approved for a mortgage. The loan officer will take all of your information, check your credit, and tell you what amount you are pre-approved to purchase. This way, you will now be able to look for a home care-free, knowing exactly what amount you can have financed through a lender. You will also be looked at as a more serious buyer because you are already pre-approved for a mortgage and will be able to complete the buying process a lot faster than someone just starting out. This fact alone can save you thousands of dollars as you negotiate the final price of the home with the seller.
4. No Surprises
Once you find your dream home, agree on the price, and get the mortgage underwriting process going, it’s important to be as stable as possible before the closing. Lenders don’t want to see any surprises during the underwriting of your home loan. Incurring new debt such as purchasing a car, appliances, or furniture can throw your debt-to-income ratio out of whack and stop the entire process. So for the sake of your dream home, don’t buy anything on credit, don’t close any accounts, don’t even apply for new credit, until after you close on your home and have your keys in hand.
Getting your credit in order before you start the home buying process is not only smart, it can save you months of paperwork and thousands of dollars.