How to Finance a New Home
If you are buying a home for the first time, figuring out how to go about this can be a great trial and headache! There are different ways to go about buying a home, but some work much more effectively than others.
Here are some tips that can help to get you on your way to financing the home of your dreams-or at least the home for right now. First, don’t buy if you can’t stay put.
If you can’t commit to remaining in one place for at least a few years, then owning is probably not for you, at least not yet. With the transaction costs of buying and selling a home, you may end up losing money if you sell any sooner, even in a rising market.
When prices are falling, it’s an even worse proposition. Be careful to not lose your well earned money on buying too quickly.
Next, start by shoring up your credit. Since you most likely will need to get a mortgage to buy a house, you must make sure your credit history is as clean as possible.
A few months before you start house hunting, get copies of your credit report. Make sure the facts are correct, and fix any problems you discover.
Remember that even a late payment on your credit card can damage your credit. As these damages add up, you may be shocked to find that no one wants to give you a loan.
Be careful to pay attention to these small hits to your credit just as much as you do the large purchases. Creating a good credit score will give you security for life.
Next, aim for a home that you can truly afford. The rule of thumb is that you can buy housing that runs about two-and-one-half times your annual salary.
But you’ll do better to use one of many calculators available online to get a better handle on how your income, debts, and expenses affect what you can afford. Buying a home out of your sensible price range will only end up causing you stress, pain, and financial woes down the line.
If you can’t put down the usual twenty percent, you may still qualify for a loan. There are a variety of public and private lenders who, if you qualify, offer low-interest mortgages that require a down payment as small as three percent of the purchase price.
Don’t forget, if you are planning on having children, buy in a district with good schools. In most areas, this advice applies even if you don’t have school-age children.
When it comes time to sell, you’ll learn that strong school districts are a top priority for many home buyers, thus helping to boost property values. When it comes time to sell, you will have more potential buyers.
Next, get professional help. Even though the Internet gives buyers unprecedented access to home listings, most new buyers, and many more experienced ones, are better off using a professional agent.
Look for an exclusive buyer agent, if possible, who will have your interests at heart and can help you with strategies during the bidding process. Look for recommendations from trustworthy friends who would not lead you astray.
Choose carefully between points and rate. When picking a mortgage, you usually have the option of paying additional points — a portion of the interest that you pay at closing — in exchange for a lower interest rate.
If you stay in the house for a long time — say three to five years or more — it’s usually a better deal to take the points. The lower interest rate will save you more in the long run.
Before you house hunt, make sure you are pre-approved. Getting pre-approved will save yourself the grief of looking at houses you can’t afford and put you in a better position to make a serious offer when you do find the right house.
Lastly, hire a home inspector. Your lender will require a home appraisal anyway.
But that’s just the bank’s way of determining whether the house is worth the price you’ve agreed to pay. Separately, you should hire your own home inspector, preferably an engineer with experience in doing home surveys in the area where you are buying.
His or her job will be to No prescription cialis point out potential problems that could require costly repairs down the road. As you can see, there are so many things to research, consider, and be careful of when you are buying a new home-be careful, and you can truly have the home of your dreams.
Author Bio: Tom Selwick has worked as a loan officer for the last 14 years and written hundreds of articles about mortgage loans. He recommends to get informed about FHA loan Requirements to make better decisions when searching for a mortgage loan.
Contact Info:
Tom Selwick
TomSelwick09@gmail.com
(http://www.fhalendingrequirements.com)
Category: Finance/Credit/Loans
Keywords: FHA Loan Requirements