Getting ready to buy a home may seem like a complicated process. For the inexperienced buyer, it certainly feels that way. Don’t worry; you’re not alone! That’s why having an experienced team on your side is essential. Before you jump in, there are a few things that you as the buyer should do to ensure the best home buying experience for yourself.
Review Your Credit Score
Knowing your credit score has become much more accessible, as many of the credit card companies are now including this in their online portals. While a credit score doesn’t tell the whole story on your credit-worthiness, it typically impacts your loan type, the interest rate, and the amount that you may be approved for, in conjunction with what your income is.
If your credit score isn’t the greatest, that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to be able to buy a home, but it does affect a lot of the terms attached to it. Do yourself a favor and work to improve your credit score as much as you can before applying for a home loan so that you can get the best offers around.
Budget Your Money
This is one of the biggest factors when it comes to home buying, and there is no way around it. Before you can even begin looking at homes with a realtor, you’ll need to get pre-approved to verify to your realtor and to any home owner that you are serious about purchasing a home and approved to be looking at a home in a particular price range.
A lot of times, home buyers come ill-prepared for how much money they will be spending. Here is a quick list of what you should prepare yourself to be spending when you buy a home.
- Earnest Money Deposit (Good Faith Deposit, to show the seller you’re serious)
- Due Diligence Deposit (usually between 0.1% and 0.5% of home price)
- Down Payment (usually between 3%-20%, depending on loan type)
- Closing Costs (usually between 2%-5% of your home’s purchase price)
- Moving Expenses (moving, furniture, paint, appliances)
Know What You Want
This is probably the easiest one to accomplish, but it is really necessary when it comes down to being ready to buy a home. If you don’t know what you want, it makes shopping for a home that much more difficult. If it’s not something that you’ve considered yet, these may be some helpful, guiding questions to get your started.
- How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need?
- Does the age of the home matter to you?
- What style home are you looking for?
- How many square feet are you looking for?
- Is there a neighborhood or town that you want to be in?
- How much property do you want?
- Do you need a garage or storage shed?
- What do you think about an HOA?
- Which amenities do you want to have?
- Do appliances need to be included?
- Does the yard need to be fenced in?
Hire a Realtor
My final tip for getting ready to buy a home is to hire a realtor to help you with the process. Realtors aren’t miracle workers, but they come pretty close! Joking aside, when you as a buyer can communicate what you want to me, the realtor, then I have what I need to try and help deliver what you’re looking for. It’s a combination of your own personal preparation with my expertise that yields a favorable outcome.
Whether you’ve done any, all, or none of the above steps, you can still contact me if you have any questions about the home buying process. That’s what I’m here for! You can go to my contact page, or you can get in touch with me at 704-654-9305 or alyssaroccanti@gmail.com
