Getting Ready to Buy a Home
Buying a home is one of the most important steps in one’s life, so we have put together some advices hoping that we can help make your home buying process easier.
SAVE FOR DOWN PAYMENT AND CLOSING COSTS
With most loan programs you will need to put between 3% to 20% of the home’s price and this can come in a form of a Gift Down Payment. The one exception to this rule is the VA loan program where you can do up to 100% financing.
**Do you want to know if you qualify for a VA loan? Go here /va-loans/ **
Other cash expenses are the closing costs. According to Zillow, “…home buyers will pay between about 2 to 5 percent of the purchase price of their home in closing fees. So, if your home cost $150,000, you might pay between $3,000 and $7,500 in closing costs. On average, buyers pay roughly $3,700 in closing fees, according to a recent survey.”
However, each case is different so you should talk to your Loan Officer, she or he will give you a Loan Estimate which will give you an idea of what your closing costs will look like. Remember this is only an approximation and these numbers may change.
COLLECT DOCUMENTS
Providing the right documents to ensure your capability to qualify for a Home Loan is very important. Start collecting your financials: W-2’s, paystubs, bank statements and copies of your last two tax returns. Of course, required documents vary from person to person, but these are the basic documents that you will want to gather.
KNOW WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD
According to Money Under 30 you should “Aim to keep your mortgage payment at or below 25 percent of your pretax monthly income” and “[Try to] keep your total debt payments at or below 33 percent of your pretax monthly income.” (THIS ARE THE IDEAL NUMBERS), however most find this to be too tight for their buying opportunity.
BUILD YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT
Now that your expenses will increase with a monthly mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, utilities and others, it is best practice to have a good amount of money in your savings for emergencies.
GET PRE-APPROVED FOR A MORTGAGE
You don’t want to find your dream home and then find out that you cannot get financing to purchase it! Make sure that you can actually get a loan before you start home shopping. Talk to your family members, friends or co workers and ask if they know a Loan Officer that you can work with.
LOOK FOR A REALTOR
Finding a Realtor that you can trust is very important. Make sure you ask these 9 important questions.
LOOK FOR HOUSES
Your Realtor will most likely put you in a Home Search site or program, so you can get notifications whenever a house fits your criteria. But you can also look on your own; there are different kinds of Home Search Engines, so you have a lot of options out there.
A good Home Search App we recommend is Home Scouting, it has accurate Listings and live, real up-to-date active homes, unlike other Real Estate search sites, it lets you save searches and favorite homes, it’s private and does not sell your name or contact information.
To download the Home Scouting App:
iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/homescouting/id643321575
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hbsr
After downloading the app, use this code: 4254716039
We hope these tips help you to get you ready to buy a home, and please do not hesitate to contact David Haley if you have any Home Loan questions. Don’t delay and call today! 425-471-6039
Happy House Hunting!
