Whether it's your first time buying a home or not, you should familiarize yourself with the whole mortgage process. Numerous mortgage lenders will assist you in the process of acquiring a pre-qualified and pre-approved home buying application. Of course, your mortgage qualifications will be required by your agent to strengthen your deal in finding and buying a home.
The followings are some things to consider when buying a home:
1. Money
First of all, before buying a home, consider your financial status. Check your credit situation by getting hold of your most recent credit report at the credit center. You should know exactly how much money you have and how much you can afford to spend on a home.
2. Needs Vs Wants
Do not confuse between needs and wants when you can have both. Upon gathering information in buying a home, take into consideration the different types of houses available and decide what you want from what is offered.
3. The Right Agent
If you believe in the comfort and rewards of buying a home, you will need to trust the agent who will do the work for you. In finding a reliable agent you will need to look at many sources of information to determine “who represents what”. It is always best to compare experiences, backgrounds and referrals of reputable people.
4. Time
Do not expect to find a great home tomorrow if you’ve only begun your search today. Buying a home is like working on a school project. It needs ample time. If you think you’ve gathered enough information and resources within your time table, so be it.
5. Cue Cards
You don’t want to forget even a single detail about the home you’ve selected, right? Why not keep little cue cards where the ‘plus & minus’ on each home or property you’ve seen is listed and recorded.
6. Points and Plus
Learn how to bargain and get the best possible deal.
7. Word Confusion
Needless to say, when you buy a home you should familiarize yourself with the terms and words used during the dealing and negotiating with your agent and contractor. Also, try to keep a list of the questions you have that need further clarification.
8. Safety and Security
Be sure to get homeowner’s insurance. It may seem like a lifetime expense, but it will get you continued savings in the long run.
9. Final Check
Do a final inspection or walk-through of the house before settlement and before the contract is processed.
Please do consider the above checklists as helpful factors when you to decide to buy a home. Plan ahead and avoid the common mistakes that most home buyers make.