Buying Your First Home? Don’t Start Looking Until You’ve Done These 5 Things
Are You Currently Renting and Thinking About Buying?
If you’re renting right now and thinking about buying your first home, here’s a simple checklist of things we advise our clients to do before they start seriously looking:
Know your credit.
Pull your credit and make sure there isn’t anything on there that could become an issue for a lender. Many credit cards even offer this as a tool for free. Or, you can visit Credit Karma to get an idea of things. It’s better to know before you start house hunting. You don’t want any skeletons in the closet coming back to haunt you!
Get pre-approved.
Know what would be a comfortable payment along with the maximum you could potentially spend. That doesn’t mean you have to spend it all! It simply gives you a starting point and lets you know what range you’re working with. PS – we have a vetted list of lenders that we can share as buyer agents.
Practice the payment.
If your proposed mortgage payment is going to be higher than your current rent, start putting the difference into savings each month. It’s a great way to see how that payment actually feels in your budget while building up some additional funds. If you need to cut the coffee runs and weekend dinners out, make sure you like living that lifestyle.
Inventory your space.
Take a look around at what you have now. Is your current space too much? Too little? What would you actually need in your next home? Think about bedrooms, storage, parking, yard space, home office, laundry, etc.
Know your wants vs. your needs.
This one is harder than it sounds. Make your list before you start looking so you know what is truly important to you and where you’re willing to compromise. Often, the wants can come at a later time if you are working with a tight budget, or in an area that is high-demand.
And… (ok maybe six things…)
Work with a professional.
You likely have never bought a house before. We’ve bought hundreds. And, we promise you, that experience makes a difference.
There are a LOT of moving pieces in a real estate transaction, and having an experienced agent in your corner also means having access to a network of lenders, attorneys, inspectors, contractors and other professionals you’ll likely need along the way.
Buying your first house can feel overwhelming.
You don’t have to figure it all out yourself.
📞 Give us a call to see where you stand, and the steps you might need to take to get ready.
Talk to an agent today: (857) 400-9098