Guidelines for the Home Buying Process

Making the decision to buy a home is very important, especially for the first time buyer. If you are selling an existing home and buying a new one, then timing might not be that important. Review your current and future financial commitments before deciding to buy a home.

Get pre-qualified. The process of getting pre-qualified also calculates your assets and liabilities, monthly income and monthly debt to figure your affordable home value.

Create your list of wanted features. Focus on features that you want now and will need in the future. This will include number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms and size of garage. Consider extra room for guests. This list will assist in your search and comparing homes. It will also help with your real estate agent or broker.

You should obtain a copy of your credit report. It is smart to check your credit history regularly. If there are errors or things that need to be corrected, it is better to do it before you have found a house. Be prepared to answer common questions about the blemishes that you may have on your credit. Lenders look at your credit and ask questions to determine how likely you will pay back the loan.

Select the location. Proximities to friends and family is very important for social activities. Check out traffic on your road during on and off peak hours. Also check out the commute for work during traffic times. A good school district means your neighborhood will always be valued by families with school age children. Check out crime stats of your area. Go to the shopping center, police station, fire station, schools, air traffic overhead. These are all things that might affect your property value or quality of your life.

Make sure the house meets all the wanted features on your list. Remember no house is perfect.

After the house is selected and the price is negotiated, create a contract to buy the house. Have your agent resolve all the pending issues mentioned in the contract before the closing date. Get a closing date and give all information to the closing attorney. Make sure your agent will be with you at closing.

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