Buying A Home

There are many things to consider when it comes to buying a new home. So much so, that buying a home has become a very daunting task that not only requires critical attention to detail but also the ability to manage a multitude of tasks at once. Whether it’s deciding on where to put what furniture or something on a grander scale (ie. what style of kitchen to install), building a new home is all about decisions. And without proper knowledge, some of those decisions can be very costly or not beneficial to the family overall. In lieu of the sheer mountain of information that is involved with building a home, we’ve decided to spend a number of our upcoming posts pertaining to all sorts of information that one should know before the set out to buy a home. Use this checklist to make sure you’re 100% ready for whatever home ownership has to throw at you, we will be emphasize one point on the checklist each week to give you tips and tricks to get you in the right place before you buy:

1.     Get Pre-Approved For Financing – Before even stepping into your first Open House, get preapproval for a loan from a lender. There is no point in house searching if you won’t get approved so reach out to a lender to review what you have to offer. Additionally, make sure they give you a true preapproval and not a pre-qualification. Pre-qualifications solely assess information readily available to them (such as credit scores and payment histories.) A preapproval will actual put you through the review process of getting a loan before you actually get one, so you know up front exactly if you’ll get approved and what you have to work with.

2.     Build Your Credit Score – a strong credit score ensures low mortgage rates and reaffirms to lenders that you are good for the money you borrow. The magic number falls within the 700-720 range. This will net you low interest rates, and manageable monthly payments. 750+ will score the best rates in the market, and the general consensus is <650 is largely the cutoff for most lenders.

3.     Determine Your Budget – This is a large key to figuring out the puzzle that is homebuilding. It is important to plan out what payments you’ll be making, how much they’ll be, and when they’ll be due. A good rule of thumb to follow is to not have your monthly house expenses (including utilities) equal no less that 30% of your monthly income. This will allow you to still save, live, and will also offer insights on where you can help conserve energy to keep bills down. (Don’t forget taxes, closing fees, and saving for the down payment)

4.     SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! – Having a nest egg for lenders to see reassures them that you will be able to pay your loans back and will often give you more lee-way the more you have saved. In addition to the security, having that savings will ease the trouble of unexpected house mishaps. Common things that can go wrong could have dire consequences on a family whose nest egg is not where it should be.

Each week we’ll be giving some detail on each of the points on the checklist to give you a good idea of what buying a house entails. Using these steps as a guideline will not only help you navigate the process but also set you up for successful home ownership and ensure your family is secured for years to come. Check back in the coming weeks to review our in depth discussion of home buying and maybe you’ll pull a few tips and tricks that will make it a bit easier to get your family in the home they deserve!