Buying A Home Is As Easy As..1,2,3!

When buying a home as a first time home buyer you should consider how much mortgage you can afford.

A lender will ask for your monthly mortgage payment total, which should be no more than 31% of your monthly gross income. You also need to consider current loan interest rates. The lower the interest rate, the more expensive the home you’ll be able to buy. Make a list of what you want your future home to look like. Do I want three or four bedrooms? A den? Should I have a garage or no garage? Knowing what you want will help you focus on your search and keep it narrow.

Also, you need to look for a real estate broker as soon as you decide to buy a home. Ask any relatives, friends, or other first time home buyers who have bought a home recently what their experience was like. You can also try looking in the Yellow Pages or your local newspaper’s classified real estate ads. When talking to a prospective broker ask questions about the areas and type of home you are interested in.

When looking for a home aside from your real estate broker finding listings for you, you can search on your own as well and then ask the broker to show you the house. You can look online; pick up real estate flyers, read the real estate sections of your local newspaper. Also, you can drive around neighborhoods where there are "for sale" signs and go to open houses.

When you finally find a home and make an offer on it, make your offer subject to a home inspection, conducted by an independent inspector. If you are satisfied with the inspection then you can proceed with your offer. If you aren’t you should negotiate, asking the seller to pay for certain repairs or ask for a lower price.

Your lender will require you to get an appraisal of the house want to buy to make sure its worth the money that you’re borrowing. Also, lenders require as a first time home buyer that you have homeowners insurance, to protect your interests and theirs.

Now you are ready for the closing or to go to the settlement. Be sure to read everything before you sign! Congratulations on completing your journey as a first time home buyer!