What To Expect As a First Time Home Buyer: Part One
The process of buying a home for the first time is both exciting and stressful. There are a lot of steps involved with buying that first home that individuals may not be familiar with. If
you know the best way to approach it in advance, the whole process will go far more smoothly.
Steps in Buying Your First Home
As a first time home buyer, you should begin your journey in the following way:
- Assess your finances – before you speak with any professionals, start by going over your finances. Ensure that you know exactly how much your family income is, and what your total expenses are. Having this information will help you with the next steps, but it also ensures that you are well informed. Being familiar with your finances will give you an idea of what you can afford to spend on your first home.
- Speak to a mortgage lender – Bring all of the financial documentation that you’ve gathered with you to a mortgage lender. Some first time buyers make the mistake of only doing this once they’ve put an offer in on a home. Visiting a lender before means that you can get pre-approved. This means you will know exactly how much a lender will give you and you can search for appropriate homes.
- Get a real estate agent – working with a seasoned real estate agent can be very helpful during your house hunt and when it comes time to put an offer in on a home.
- See multiple houses – often first time home buyers have unrealistic expectations or are unclear about what they want in a home. Visiting many of the options can help you find the right one for you.
- Put in your offer – once you have found that perfect home, determine how much you would like to pay
for it. Your agent may advise you to start lower than that to come to a deal. Be prepared to go back and forth in the offer process.
What happens after you’ve put in your offer, you will find in our next post!