Buying your First Home? Let Us Find you a Top Mover
If you’re thinking about buying your first home, there are probably a million thoughts going through your head. While this process can be a complicated and time intensive one, there are certain things that you can do to help simplify the process and ease the stress a bit. This is where we come into play. In an effort to help you prepare for your first home buying experience, we’ve compiled a list of tips that should help you.
1. Think About Credit
Your credit score is instrumental in determining things such as whether you will quality for a mortgage or not and the interest rate that creditors will offer you. Like with most major purchases, everything from a car to your first home, your credit score plays an important role so you should definitely try to build good credit before embarking on this journey. Things like paying your bills on time and keeping your credit card balances low are great practices to ensure that your credit is in good standing. With so many free websites to check your credit score, there is no reason why you should be in the dark about this. Monitor it often so you know where you stand and what changes you need to make if necessary.
2. Establish Your Budget
When you start browsing for homes to buy in your area, make sure you don’t waste your time by looking into homes you can’t afford. This is why establishing your budget and being honest about it is vital. The last thing you want to do is miss out on the beautiful home of your dreams because you’re daydreaming about one that’s not within reach. If you’re unsure about what your spending limits should be, look into hiring a finance expert who can help you figure this out. Make sure you start saving early so that you’re in a good place here. If you have excellent credit, your down payment could be as low as 3% down.
3. Research the Best Neighborhoods
Long before you hire a moving company and trust your move to professional movers, you should spend some time researching the neighborhood that’s right for you and your family. Pay close attention to the things that are important to you. Do you need to be near the best schools in the area for your kids? Are you an avid runner and want to be near the best parks so you can go running every day before work? If you love the nightlife, research bars and nightclubs in the area. Also, pay close attention to the crime statistics in the area. You want to make sure that you’re safe without the worry of burglaries and other crimes when you go to bed at night.
4. Attend Open Houses
Once you narrow down the neighborhood you love, spend some time going to open houses. This is an excellent way to learn about the area and really get a feel of the kind of home that you want to live in. When you go to open houses, try to keep an open mind but be sure to think long term. Is this the kind of neighborhood you want to live in for the next 5-10 years or even the rest of your life? Open houses also serve as great inspiration for how you should decorate and style your home. So whether you walk in and find the home that you really connect with at the best possible price or an open house helps clarify what you don’t want in a home, it’s always worth it.
5. Make a Wise Offer
When you make an offer on a home, make sure you’re competitive but smart. Never offer to pay full price unless it’s a home you absolutely cannot afford to miss out on, and other offers are in at a lower price. Research what other homes are going for in the area to ensure that you’re getting a good deal.