Prepping to buy your first home can be quite daunting, especially if you are lacking in knowledge about the process. Read the following tips, that can be used as a checklist to help you start your home buying research:
Examine your credit score: Lenders consider your credit score to be one of the most important factors. Before meeting with a lender, obtain a free credit report to determine your credit score and carefully examine each line item on your report. This will assist you in determining your credit utilization ratio and will also allow you to identify errors or old accounts that should have been deleted years ago.
Examine your finances: It is critical that you examine your monthly cash flow in terms of assets and liabilities to ensure that you can manage homeownership. Even if you are approved for a mortgage, you must ensure that you will be able to meet your monthly mortgage payments as well as other homeownership costs.
Save for the down payment: Most first home buyers will agree that one of the most difficult aspects of home ownership is saving enough money for a down payment. Make sure to look into available financial assistance and grant programs, both locally and nationally.
Investigate current mortgage rates: While many first-time home buyers are focused on the cost of a property, they should also consider the total cost of financing a home over the life of the mortgage. Mortgage rates are a good way to compare different mortgage products offered by lenders, and home buyers should also consider the annual percentage rate (APR) to get a sense of how much the loan will cost over the life of the loan.
Feel free to call me at 503-7013-4699 or email me at sbfreedom@gmail.com if you want to know the best approach to buying or selling a home at this time and we can run some numbers.
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