Before You Pick A Home
FIRST, Know How Much You Can Afford
Before you spend the time looking for houses, you'll want to visit with a bank or mortgage company and ask them to let you know how much money you'd be able to borrow for a home.
Getting a mortgage company to pre-qualify you will also help real estate agents and sellers take you more seriously.
You won't want to waste valuable time looking at houses you won't be approved for. You also don't want to put a contract on your dream home and find out another buyer submitted a contract to buy it at the same time, and they get the house because they were pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage and you weren't.
This is a very important first step in buying a house unless you plan on using cash to buy the house.
Before you proceed with talking to someone about a mortgage, please read important tips about shopping for mortgages in the resources below.
House Hunting
Narrow your search before you take the time to look in person. List some of the things you have to have and then make a list of things that would be nice to have but that you could do without if you found a great home that didn't include them. Some examples of things that you might think about are listed below. When thought through your needs and wants, then look online to get an idea of what is available in your area. Then you can reach out to a local real estate agent to help you find the best house available for you and negotiate the purchase.
Examples of things to consider:
- Number of bedrooms
- Number of bathrooms
- Quiet street
- Cul-de-sac
- Community pool
- Backyard pool
- School district
- Size of yard
- Distance from railroad tracks
- Distance from creeks
- How many floors
- Basement or no basement
- Garage space
- Preferred subdivision
- Distance of neighbors
- Condo or stand alone home (also called single family residence)
- Layout of home
- Newly constructed or older with character
- Remodeled or needs remodeling and will be priced accordingly
Packing
It's worth every second to label each box you pack. Write down each item that's in the box and label what room the box should go in. It's easy to think you'll remember what you put where, but trust me, when you're in your new home and quickly need to find that one thing, all those boxes will start to look alike and you'll wish you'd taken the tiny amount of time it takes to label and list your contents.
You can also start packing before you find a home. Start going through items you rarely use and begin packing them in labeled boxes to get a head start.
Resources
Mortgages
If you aren't paying cash for a home, you'll want to find out about your mortgage options.
Banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies offer several products that will help homebuyers purchase a home without having to put 20% down.
Not all lenders offer the same products.
Not all mortgage loan originators know how to originate all the products their company offers.
It's important to know that so that you plan ahead and take the time to talk to more than one person and lender. Give yourself the opportunity to know as many of your options as possible before committing to the loan you're going to get.
There are many options and some will benefit you more than others so talk to more than one mortgage loan originator and more than one company. You can talk to mortgage lenders in your community and also online. Look to see if the organization and the originator have any online reviews. Ask them about all the options available that would fit your personal situation and ask them for a good faith estimate (GFE) for the mortgage options you are considering. The GFE will list the different fees involved in buying a home, and give you an idea of what the monthly mortgage cost would be with each product.
THEY ARE EXPECTING YOU TO TALK TO MORE THAN ONE LENDER SO DON'T HESITATE TO TALK TO AT LEAST THREE IF NOT MORE.
Real Estate Agents
Once you've found out how much money you can borrow to purchase a home, you can let your real estate agent know.
There are many real estate agents available to you so check for online reviews and consider having a conversation with more than one before deciding who might be the best fit for you. Find out how available they'll be, and if you can find out their reputation among other real estate agents, that could be helpful as well.
A buyers agent will help you find out your options for the type of home and neighborhood you're looking for. They'll also work on your behalf to write up a contract and negotiate with the sellers agent to finalize the price and terms of buying the house.
Packing
Packing means additional supplies. Some people will need more supplies than others. Before you buy boxes, see if you can find any online. Sites like Craigslist or Nextdoor will sometimes have listings for free moving boxes.
Here's a list of items you might need to get for moving:
- Boxes in several sizes
- Packing tape
- Labels
- Markers
- Bubble wrap
- Paper for wrapping
- Moving pads
- Dolly or hand cart
- Scissors
Change of Address
You'll want to let people know about your move and make sure any necessary utilities are turned on.
Here are some actions to consider:
- Complete a change of address form at the post office
- Notify any current utility services of a shut off date for when you've moved out
- Update subscription services with your new address
- Change of address cards to send to friends and family
- Reach out to make sure utilities needed at new house will be turned on in your name as you're moving in
Online Resources for Homes
Some home search sites are specific to region and there may be more that aren't covered on this list. Here are some that might be helpful.
- www.Realtor.com
- www.Realtracs.com
- www.Zillow.com
- www.Trulia.com
- www.Redfin.com
- www.Homefinder.com
- www.Homes.com
Online Resources for Supplies
If you need boxes, packing tape, moving peanuts, bubble wrap, or labels, you can find all of this online. Here are some places to start: