Buying a Home – Some Basics*

Whether it's your first time buying a home or not, you should familiarize yourself with the whole mortgage process. Numerous mortgage lenders will assist you in the process of acquiring a pre-qualified and pre-approved home buying application. Of course, your mortgage qualifications will be required by your agent to strengthen your deal in finding and buying a home.

Here are some things to consider when you are buying a home.

Money
Before buying a home, consider your financial status. Check your credit situation by getting hold of your most recent credit report at the credit center or at an online credit service. You should know exactly how much money you have and how much you can afford to spend on your new real estate.

Time
Don’t expect to find a great home tomorrow, if you’ve only begun your search today. Buying a home is like working on any large, involved project. It needs ample time and resources. If you think you’ve gathered enough information and resources within your time table, so be it.

The Right Real Estate Agent
If you believe in the comfort and rewards of buying a home, you will need to trust the real estate agent who will do the work for you. In finding a reliable real estate agent, you will need to look at many sources of information to determine “who represents what.” It is always best to compare experiences, backgrounds, and the referrals of reputable people.

Needs vs Wants
Why confuse yourself between needs and wants when you can have both? While you're gathering information for buying a home, take into consideration the different types of houses available in your real estate market, and decide what you want from what is offered – in your price range.

Word Confusion
Needless to say, when you buy a home you should familiarize yourself with the terms and words used during the dealing and negotiating with your real estate agent and/or contractor. Also, you might try keeping a list of the questions you have that need further clarification. You can ask your real estate agent, or you can look the terms up on the Internet.

Cue Cards
You don’t want to forget even a single detail about the home you’ve selected, right? Why not keep little cue cards where the ‘plus & minus’ on each home or property you’ve seen is listed and recorded. We all have limitations about what we can remember, and these cards can be invaluable. 3"x5" cards are inexpensive, easy to carry, and have ample space for writing. Real estate starts to look 'the same' after viewing five or so houses.

Points and Plus
Learn how to bargain and get the best possible deal. There are oodles of resources for this. I prefer the internet because it puts so much in front of me so quickly and easily. Learning to negotiate in real estate is critical when the final deals come down. Don't allow yourself to be manipulated or taken advantage of – study up so you can protect yourself!

Safety and Security
Be sure to get homeowner’s insurance. It may seem like a lifetime expense, but it will get you continued savings in the long run. Look at the statistics, and compare policies before you sign.

Final Check
Do a final inspection or 'walk-through' of the house before settlement, and before the contract is processed. Your real estate agent should help you with this, but making a checklist for the final inspection is a good idea. This is your last chance to note any problems.

Consider the above points as helpful factors when you to decide to buy a home. Plan ahead and avoid the common mistakes that most home buyers make when they venture into the complicated, dynamic world of real estate.