2 Essential Tips For First Time Homebuyers
Posted on: 5 May 2016
It's easy to be unprepared for the home buying process if you have never done it before. With it being a very complicated process that you will only do once or twice in your lifetime, you'll need all the help you can get to make sure you do it right. As a first time homebuyer, be sure to follow these 2 essential tips.
Get Pre-Approved For A Mortgage Right Away
Unless you have a sudden windfall of cash, you will need to get financing to purchase your home. This process starts with getting pre-approved for a mortgage by a bank or other mortgage lender.
You'll need your pre-approval for two reasons. The first is that it lets you know what price range of homes you should be looking at, which will save you time by avoiding homes you cannot get a mortgage to purchase. The second reason is to help with your offer on a home.
When a home for sale has a lot of interested buyers, you will need to make an offer very quickly. If a seller has two identical offers in front of them willing to pay their asking price, chances are that they will go with a buyer that is pre-approved for a loan rather than one that is not.
Get A Home Inspection
Since you have never owned a home before, you may not be aware of all the things that can potentially be wrong with one. That's why a home inspection is so critical to the home buying process. You are paying a professional to look for potential problems. And if they do find any problems that would be considered a deal breaker, it gives you an opportunity to back out of the sale. For example, a home inspection may find critical problems with the foundation that you normally wouldn't be able to identify. There could be old knob and tube wiring that would need a complete replacement due to safety concerns.
A home inspection also gives you an overview of all the maintenance you'll need to do when owning a home. For example, a home inspection could let you know that the mortar between the exterior bricks will be in need of tuck pointing after a few years or that the furnace is on its last legs and could need replacement in the near future.
If you follow these two essential tips, it will help you win an offer on a home and make you feel at ease that the house is in good condition. For more information, contact companies like RE/MAX EXECUTIVES PLUS.
Share