How To Buy Your First House – To buy a house for the first time is something you only learn how to do by doing it. No one can truly tell you the myriad of emotions and feelings you go through during your first purchase, but I am going to try and give you a glimpse before you dive into the waters.
You are purchasing at a great time in the market because rates are low and it is a buyers market. The term buyers market means there are far more sellers in the market than buyers, therefore, you have an advantage because you can just move on to the next property without hesitation leaving the sellers in a vulnerable situation. The downside of purchasing now is the market is still trending downward and no one really knows where the bottom lies.
How To Buy Your First House
How To Buy Your First House
With that business about the market out of the way, let’s talk about the purchase of your first house. How exciting is this moment? To say it is very exciting would be an understatement as I remember literally floating through the process, eagerly waiting for that day when the keys were handed to me.
If you keep your head down, focused on the end result, do everything you must in order to succeed, you will enjoy this feeling as well. Today, I want to try and help you get through this process with some information to show you how to buy your first house. Let’s get to it and outline some steps for you to follow.
Get Your Finances in Order
Before you can even consider buying your first house, you have to get your personal finances in order. There is no need in purchasing a home if you cannot really afford it. This is why the economy is in crisis right now. Too many people buying a home they cannot really afford
You need to pull your credit report and deal with anything on there that is holding your credit score back. Building a higher credit score will lead to better interest rates, which will make the money you borrow to buy your first house that much cheaper. It is worth the extra effort, trust me on this one.
Read More: How to Boost Your Credit Score Quickly?
Get a Pre-Approval
After you have danced with your personal credit, now is the time to move on to speaking with a lender. Before you can go out visiting and bidding on a home, you need to get a pre-approval from a lender. This is the amount of money they are willing to give you towards the purchase of your next home.
Do not accept the full amount they offer. Instead, do yourself a favor and only purchase a home where the PITI, principal interest taxes and insurance, are under 31% of your household take home income. Again, be smart in this situation and don’t let your eyes, desire, and keeping up with the Jones cash a check your bank account cannot handle.
Visualize Your House
If you are anything like me, then you have seen your home for years. Watching HGTV and dreaming of this day to purchase your first house is very special and fun.
Take those dreams and mix it with the reality of the 31% of income concept and find a neighborhood that matches your needs as a family, worker, and citizen. Something safe and affordable with good schools and access is what you are looking for. Speak or work with a Realtor to help you make these sorts of decisions.
Start Visiting Houses on the Market
You have to get out there in the marketplace and see what is being offered. Focus on the area you plan to buy. There will be more properties than you can possibly visit, but do your best to see as many as possible. This will give you a great idea of what is available in the marketplace and give you some additional ideas about what you want in a house.
Read More: House Hunting Tips
These are some great steps to get you moving in the right direction towards purchasing your first house. However, they are not the only steps. In fact, there are a few more tips I want to share with you in part two of this article. You can read part two here: How To Buy Your First House (Part 2)
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