Buying Your First Home? Here are Some Top Tips to Guide You

Buying A Home

Buying your first home is an exciting venture, but it can also be a stressful one – it is a brand new experience, it is complicated and there are lots of expenses to bear. You should not let it daunt you. With the following tips you will be able to buy your home and avoid added stress:

•    Start saving well in advance. Lenders will ask you to put up a down payment, and the bigger it is the smaller your interest rate will be. Young people are advised to start saving as soon as they get their first job after college. If you put aside a substantial amount every month you will be able to pay a significant down payment by the time you are ready to buy your first home and start a family.

•    Make sure to know what you want. There are millions of properties up for sale every year, and it is important to think about your needs and desires before you start the buying process. Think about what style of home you want and what kind of neighborhood it should be in. Think about how big you want it to be, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and the size of the kitchen. With all these things defined it becomes easier to narrow down your options.

•    Make sure that you have a good credit score – it makes it easier to find a lender who is willing to work with you. If you have outstanding debts pay them off. Don’t just assume that you have a good credit rating – download your credit report and see if there are any anomalies before you approach a lender.

•    In the meantime you should avoid taking on new debt – every time you approach a lender it is noted on your credit score, and if you have a lot of dent it will be harder to get a loan for your first home.

•    It is important to decide how much you can afford to spend on your first home. Take into account how much you make every month and how much of that goes towards expenses and savings. Don’t forget to factor in homeowners insurance as well as furniture. The process itself will have additional expenses, so take those into account too.

•    There are federal programs that provide relief for first time homebuyers, so look into those to find out what is required.  There are similar programs that real estate brokers in Canada can take advantage of.

•    Compare rates between lenders before you make a decision. There are some lenders who take advantage of first time home buyers because they are inexperienced, but if you compare several you will be able to weed them out.

Lastly, make sure that you are working with the right real estate agent. This is someone who you will work closely with for a while so it is important that you get along. Make sure that they have experience with first time home buyers. They should be able to provide you with a list of house to choose from in the area of your choice, and also walk you through the entire process.