Buying your first home is a great moment in life. It will lead you to form lasting relationships with your community and neighbors. There are lots of exciting choices to make like city vs. suburbs. vs. rural, which neighborhood, school districts, number of garages, views and more.
Here are SunnyHill Financial’s tips on how to approach the first time home buying process.
Figure Out What Type of Home You Are Looking to Buy
Dreaming about what type of home you want and touring homes is exciting. Understand which features are most important to you in your first home. Items like number of bedrooms and bathrooms, amount of outdoor and indoor space, updated appliances, and flow of the house are all important criteria. Allow these to help you narrow the search.
Think about move dates, and how long you want to live in the home. The length of time you plan to live in the home will help you understand which home loan product best fits your needs. Setting a goal for your purchase date will also help organize the search.
Choose your realtor wisely. There are a number of sources for good information for this including friends and family, open house listings, and online reviews. Often times meeting with the realtor in person, can help make sure they are qualified to fit your needs.
Understand Your Finances
Having an understanding of how much money you can afford to put down will help you figure out how much you qualify for. This will be instrumental in helping you pick pricing for your first home.
Select the ideal home loan based on your credit score, interest rates, and insurance. There are a wide variety of products. So it’s a good idea to understand all your options. One of the benefits of working with a mortgage broker is access to a diverse set of lenders.
A good Mortgage Loan Officer will take the time to help you understand all the best options.
Apply for your mortgage and get qualified.
Qualification will start the process and be prepared to provide any documents needed throughout the home loan process.