6 Tips on Buying Your First Home

Buying your first home is a very exciting time in your life but it can also be a very stressful and confusing experience. For that reason we came up with 6 tips to help you through the process of buying your first home!help for first time home buyers

1. Attend a First-Time Home Buyer’s Seminar to learn all the ins and outs of buying and owning a home. You will be able to ask questions about securing loans for payment of your mortgage, what types of things to look for in a home and even learn about maintaining and repairing your home when you get it. The best part about it is that many of these seminars are free.

2. Seek Pre-approval for a Loan. This will allow you to have a better idea of just how much you will be able to borrow. It also lets the seller know how serious and committed you are to purchasing a new home.

3. Find a Right Real Estate Agent. We talked about this in a previous post so be sure to check that out for further details on how to find and pick the right one. This will be very important in the home buying process. Bear in mind that there are Buyer agents and Seller agents.

4. Make Sure You Know What You Can Afford. This is another subject that was mentioned in a previous post. There are numerous affordability calculators available online through many different websites which will be able to help you gauge you price range. This goes hand in hand with calculating your monthly mortgage payments. You want to make sure that you can afford it and that the monthly costs will not be a surprise to you when calculating you budget.

5. Don’t Forget about the Closing Costs. These are charges by the lender and include title and settlement fees, taxes and homeowner’s insurance.

6. Lastly, Look at the Big Picture. Remember that a home is an investment and with it there may be many hidden costs associated. You should take into account possible repairs and renovations prior to purchasing the home. Also remember to try to separate what you want from what you actually need in a home.

Your first time will be very exciting but you want to ensure that you are making a wise decision and the right decision.

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

How to Determine What House You Can Afford

When searching for a house, we often let our emotions get in the way and throw all logic out the window but we should always ask ourselves, “Can I actually afford this house” before we rush into signing any important documents. How to calculate how much I can afford on a new house

So how can you determine and measure the affordability factor? It all depends on how much you are willing to pay up front (down payment), how much you want to pay for your mortgage on a monthly basis, and of course, your total income. Other factors to consider are any big expenses such as university costs, student loans, medical bills, or your monthly savings account or retirement contributions. You must also factor in your monthly expenses such as credit card bills, car payments or any other expenses that may get in the way.

Your credit rating will come into play as well as this will determine how much you will be able to take out in loans for your mortgage so be sure to spend some time paying off as many debts as possible and increasing your credit score before looking for that perfect new home.

Now as far as actually calculating the affordability numerically, I could bore you with financial details and minutia or I can make it very simple for you. Go online and search for an affordability calculator. Many websites including cnn.com, msn.com and many real estate agent websites have a free online form where you plug in certain numbers and figures to determine the affordability of a home you are interested in.  They will ask about your income and any expenses you may have as well as other factors to quickly calculate this.

As a general rule, the debt to income ratio (how much you owe divided by how much you make) must not surpass 36% and housing payment to income ratio (housing payment per month divided by income per month) must be about 28% but of course, it varies from website to website. Using pre-determined formulas and percentages, these calculators will do the math for you while asking you very simple and direct financial questions. It’s as simple as plugging in the numbers and clicking a button. It’s quick, easy and convenient.

Once you determine exactly how much you can afford to spend on your house and for your monthly mortgage payments then you can begin searching for your perfect new home! Once you have narrowed your home search down to your top few contenders make sure to research the neighborhoods, communities and surrounding areas of each home on MoversAtlas! This is an important step that many first time and experienced home buyers overlook. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of your individual home but the surrounding area is almost just as important as the home itself!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

Tips on Being a Smart Home Buyer

Being a smart home buyer is much like being a smart car buyer, the best tool you can have is being equipped with the right knowledge. Doing complete and thorough research will help ensure you make the best decision possible.  After you have Advice on buying a new homefound the perfect house or narrowed it down to multiple houses you are interested in it would be wise to sit down and carefully look over the financials in many different aspects.

The price of the home is just the start.  If you have ever gone through the process of being preapproved for a home loan you know that typically you are approved for a lot more money than you actually want or need.  In this case you need to set your own personal budget for your new home, some recommend this should be a third of your take home pay on a 15 year FIXED rate mortgage.  This would be combined income and could vary depending on your personal debt like cars, student loans or credit cards.  This may seem like it is much less then you thought you could afford but there are many additional expenses that come along with being a home owner.

One big expense that most people overlook if it is their first time buying a home is buying furniture and other standard household items. Many people are used to living in apartments, condos or even mom and dads and in these cases many don’t have enough furniture to even fill the place; this may not seem important at first but depending on the individuals circumstances using bean bag chairs for living room furniture or TV trays for the kitchen table gets old very quickly.  These items tend to sneak up on most and end up being a burden that turn into more debt and more cost that is overlooked.

Some more expenses to consider are additional taxes, HOA fees, mortgage insurance and home insurance.  The fees that are tacked on during the purchase, known as closing cost, can vary depending on the type of purchase. The closing cost can typically be calculated fairly easily and fortunately is a onetime cost; on the other hand taxes and HOA fees are ongoing and should be carefully included into the consideration when purchasing a place.  Many times there are HOA fees that can be several hundred dollars a month, this money could be better used elsewhere so it is important to educate yourself on these additional expenses before you close on a new house.

It is said that knowledge is power, this is especially true when buying your home. It is important to have a full understanding of all the hidden costs, what your limitations are and how comfortable you want to live.  The best thing you can do is take your time, do your research and be honest with yourself and your situation.

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.