3 Things you should do Before Looking for a New Home
Buying a home can be an extremely complicated process. Instead of looking at the home buying experience as one large process, think of it as a lot of smaller processes that lead to a final destination. That final destination of course, is owning a brand new home.
Step 1: Know what’s on your credit report
Do you know what your credit rating is? Do you know what your credit report says about you? Your credit report is a running history on how well you manage finances. This report will be the key to your approval for a mortgage. Errors are common on credit reports so you need to take a look before trying to obtain a mortgage. This will give you a chance to fix any errors prior to getting a loan to help you get a better credit rating.
Step 2: How much can you afford?
The second thing you need to do is sit down and figure out how much you can afford. You need to take into account all streams of income as well as expenses. Many people fall into the trap of biting off more than they can chew. Remember, this is an asset you will have for a long time. You do not want to strap yourself down with monthly payments that you can’t afford.
Now that you know your credit rating, you need to consider monthly payments as well as down payment. The monthly payments and down payment are crucial to the home buying process. It is necessary to plan out how much you can afford based on the payment range that fits in your budget. Having a decent down payment will help keep your monthly payments within your determined budget.
Step 3: Get pre approved for a mortgage
In order to know how much you are able to spend on a house, you need to get pre-approved for a loan. This is the only way you will know exactly what you can buy and what you cannot. This is where the proper steps of knowing your credit report ahead of time, and having a down payment amount in mind will come into play. If you follow these three steps in order, the mortgage lender will be able to tell you a price range of the homes you can buy.
After step three is complete you will be able to approach the home buying market with a sense of power. Not only will you know exactly how much you can spend, you will also have a pre-approved mortgage. With a pre-approved mortgage you will have an enticing incentive to sellers that other buyers do not, giving you the upper hand even with a lower offer.