Essential Home Buying Steps
In theory, the home buying process should be relatively straightforward. Simply find an area you want to live in, track down a home that fits your needs, hand over a down payment and then move in. Unfortunately, this is not a real world experience when it comes to the home buying process.
If you will be embarking on your own home buying journey, here are some of the basic steps you will need to be prepared for.
Know Your Limits
One of the first steps you should take when thinking about starting down the home buying path is scheduling a meeting with a lender. Your lender will be able to help walk you through what a realistic home buying budget will look like for your personal situation.
One of the biggest mistakes buyers make in the home buying process is starting with falling in love with homes that end up being outside of their budget. By understanding what your financial situation actually is, buyers will be able to accurately identify which homes are and are not within their home buying budget from the get go.
Know Your Credit
Because your credit score plays such a large role in your ability to secure a mortgage, it is essential for home buyers to know where their credit score stands. You will want both a current snapshot of your credit score as well as a report on your previous history.
It is important that you review your report in detail in order to uncover any potential mistakes that are found on it. Even a small error could result in you receiving a higher interest rate on your mortgage. Therefore, if you come across a mistake, it is imperative that you work to get it fixed ASAP.
Get Pre-Approved
Once you have found your lender and gotten your credit score in order, the next step is to get pre-approved for your mortgage. This is important because a home buyer who is pre-approved is a much stronger candidate for home sellers. In proving that you are indeed qualified and able to purchase a home you instantly strengthen your home offer.
Know What You Need
It is important for home buyers to take the time to separate their home buying wants from their home buying needs. While “wants” would be nice to have, home buyers must not compromise on their list of needs. Neglecting to do this could mean that home buyers end up in a house that is not the right fit for them.
Hit the Market
In order to set themselves up for success in the home buying process, buyers will want to research the market as much as possible. By understanding what the local market is doing along with what opportunities are currently available, home buyers will be able to find homes that fit within their budget and their list of needs.
Make a Strong Offer
Hopefully, home buyers will reach a point in the home buying process where they are ready to make a home offer. If you have found the house that meets all of your requirements you will want to make as strong of an offer as possible in order to win out.
Once your offer is accepted, the home buying process starts to come to an end. Buyers will now need their final mortgage approval and will be required to complete their due diligence. During this time it is important to have a home inspection done and perform the necessary walkthroughs to make sure the home is what it appears.
If everything checks out you will proceed to the closing process. Once these papers are signed and the money is exchanged the keys will be yours.