Home Buying Tips

I had been searching the housing market to find a new home for me and my family for several weeks. What I was looking for in my new home was very simple -- I wanted a house located just outside of LA that offered a better commute location, good neighborhood and good school district for better educational opportunities for my children. I wanted a safe neighborhood and a safe school, outside of the high-traffic congested areas (which in LA is hard to avoid).

Incurring such a large investment along with knowing almost nothing about the laws, taxes requirements, etc. was a bit stressful. As a first time home buyer I wasn’t very educated in the home buying or home loan process. So I decided to get in contact with a close friend of mine, Julie, who had been in the real estate industry for a long time. In the past she has been a great source of information on the state of the real estate market. Once we got in touch she was able to provide some helpful information.

One of her first recommendations before jumping into the process was to do a little homework of my own and prepare a homebuyers checklist that included the following items:

- Type of Home
- Home Location
- Credit/How much can I afford?
- Finding a good real estate agent

So in preparation for this monumental task in my life here are the steps I followed very carefully:

Type of Home
First thing, I had to identify my needs. I had to ask myself the following questions:

* What type of home am I looking for?
* How many rooms do I need?
* Which location will best suit my family’s needs?
* How long was I going to live there?

Once I was able to identify the key factors in consideration I was able to narrow down my options. Buying a home can be overwhelming, especially for a first time buyer. Answering these questions and breaking down the process into smaller steps was a good step towards making the home buying process more manageable.

Home Location
The location of my home was another big factor in my decision-making process.

First, I came up with a list of possible locations. Next, I made a list of all the things that were important to me: the price range, type of real-estate available, the quality of the school system, the home’s proximity to schools, offices, shopping complexes and transportation and commuting alternatives available in the city.

After looking at several properties in many cities throughout Southern California, one location stood out as the clear winner. The location I chose had all the qualities I was looking for and now I was ready to move onto my next task.

Credit/ How much can I afford/qualify for?
Aim for a home you can really afford was the advice from many of my close friends. Also, I was told by my realtor that the rule of thumb is that you can buy housing that runs about two-and-one-half times your annual salary. But you'll do better to use one of many calculators available online to get a better handle on how your income to debt ratio and expenses affect how much home you can afford.

Initially I requested a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com to make sure that all facts on my credit report were correct. Because I had carefully used my credit during the past 3 years, my credit report didn’t have too many surprises. However, there was one unexpected addition of a credit card charge-off (erroneously credited) from my previous job, my credit score was in a good shape to qualify for a good rate. But just to make sure I could qualify for a better rate I started doing some research of my own to try removing the unexpected credit nick that appeared on my report.

One cool internet site I found that helped me with removing that blemish from my credit profile as well educating myself with the loan process is called CreditDemystified.com; it houses a library with free tools such as credit repair and home loan guides, debt-consolidation workbooks, and several podcasts on how to improve your credit rating.

After contacting the 3 major credit bureaus and following the recommendation of these free tools I was able to successfully correct and remove the blemish off my credit profile within a 3 month period, thus helping me qualify for a lower rate. I strongly recommend doing this way in advance and prior to the start of the escrow process so the lender won’t be waiting on your credit repairs for an extended period of time. Once I was able to figure out what type of loan I qualified for and what I was able to afford I was ready for the next step of the process.

Finding a good real estate agent:
Because Julie lives 90 miles from my home, she referred me to one of her best colleagues in my area – Cindy. Once acquainted, Cindy and I started looking at all the different properties available within my preferred communities. She was very helpful and honest through the entire process, never trying to push me but very concerned about finding me the right property.

For a couple of weeks, she and I worked as a tag team, looking at different properties and loan options. After surveying many available properties for over 3 weeks, I was unable to find a home that met my needs. For a period of time the leads went cold. Then all of sudden I got a call from a Cindy on a last minute availability directly from a home builder. Apparently, the house had just become available after a potential buyer had fallen out of escrow. This can happen in the home-buying process. While I was searching for homes, I noticed that many homes on the listing were looking for backup buyers.

I quickly went to see the new town home and fell in love with it. Soon after I signed all the require docs to start the loan process. By the end of the second day, I made an offer. She was able to instinctively pinpoint what she felt would be best for me. She listened to what I wanted and needed and consequently I was able to make a decision quickly.

She put me at ease through the entire transaction and was always available to help and answer questions while being patient and knowledgeable. First time home buying can be very stressful but a little bit of information can go a long way.

In Conclusion:
My advice is to do comprehensive research, arm yourself with a good real estate agent and make a list of what is important to you and what you are willing to compromise. This will make finding your dream home a lot easier.

A good first time home buyer resource:
Buying A Home from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

Article Source: http://www.yourarticle.info

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated