5 things to consider before buying your first home – words Alexa Wang
Deciding to become a first-time homebuyer is an exciting step, but one that you must approach with caution. Moving too quickly or without doing all your homework could mean you’re spending more than you’re comfortable with or that you don’t find the home that you really love.
Not everyone is lucky to live a life of luxury and buy a beautiful mansion as their first home. For that reason, it’s important to make sure you’re ready to buy a house before you even start looking. Consider the five following things as you start to find out more about your first home purchase.
Carefully Consider What You Can Really Afford
It doesn’t make financial sense to get in over your head just to say you’re a homeowner. Before you start looking at houses, decide how much you can afford to spend on a monthly house payment. Once you have that number in mind, you can start looking at homes that fall within your price range and that will keep your payments in the range you’re comfortable paying.
Work With Experienced Professionals
When you choose a realtor or a mortgage lender, be sure you’re choosing a company with a good reputation and that is experienced in home buying, particularly first home purchases. These individuals will walk with you every step of the way so that you can find the perfect home at the perfect price. Use a company like Habito for mortgage advice so that you don’t wind up in a situation you didn’t expect.
Negotiate as Much as You Can
The process of buying a home has plenty of room to negotiate in terms of the final price. Don’t be afraid to go back and forth a little bit to get the price down or to change the terms you are unhappy with. You should be able to tell if a seller is willing to work with you and then you can often determine how much wiggle room you have before you’re turned away completely. Negotiating is part of the home buying process so get in there and make it work for you.
Select an Agent Carefully
When you choose an agent to help you buy your home, do some research and compare agents to make sure you’re getting the right one. You need an agent who is on your side and understands what you want. He or she should also be familiar with the first-time home buying experience and should be happy and willing to answer questions and walk you through the process. If not, consider finding a different agent before going any further with your purchase.
The Search Can Take Longer Than You Think
You might be surprised to find out just how long getting a first-time mortgage can take. There are several steps in the process so finding the right home might not be an overnight thing. You’re likely to look at quite a few houses before finding the one you want, and you may even work with several agents and mortgage lenders before you settle on the one you’re happy working with. Expecting this helps take some of the stress out of buying a property so be sure you understand what you’re in for before you get started.
5 things to consider before buying your first home – words Alexa Wang
