Buying a home is an important decision, and will have good or bad consequences for the rest of your life. There are several different aspects to consider during the buying process, including the loan, the type of home you want it to be, and the location. Here are just a few things to remember when going through the process.
Credit
If you know that you want to buy a home in the near future, start working on your credit. Your credit report is going to be one of the most important factors in your interest rate on your mortgage. If you have a good credit score, you will be rewarded with an interest rate that is low. On the other hand, if you have shown a history of late payments and collections, the lender is going to be very weary about lending you money. Since you are a risky borrower, they are going to raise the interest on your loan. If your credit is not where it should be do not hesitate to get help with the score. There are companies that specialize in helping you with all aspects of credit. These companies offer credit score coaching, which shows you how to build positive credit, but they also work on removing any negative items that may be inaccurate.
Use Your Real Estate Agent
Do not use the real estate agent of the seller. The commission that a real estate agent receives is generally paid by the seller, and therefore often the real estate agent will be on the side of the seller. So, make sure that you bring your own real estate agent to the table. A good real estate agent will make sure that you understand the market, and tell you if your offer is competitive.
Inspection
When you put an offer in on a house, and that offer is accepted remember that you have many different options. You can withdraw at anytime before closing. The first thing that you are going to want to do is get the home inspected. The inspector will give you a list of everything that is wrong with the home. You can then tell the seller that you want specific things fixed. If they refuse to fix them then you can back out. Often they will not want to fix them, so they will drop their asking price. Sit down with your real estate agent to talk about your options.
