How To Buy The Home
You Always Wanted...
Without All The Money You Thought You Needed
Buying a home can seem like a frightening prospect. Whether
it's your first home, or your fifth, so much is at stake —
your savings, your credit rating, your financial freedom.
It's difficult to get up the courage to sign on the dotted
line, even if you want that home very, very badly.
How do you determine whether or not the purchase of a home
makes sense?
What's the easiest way to examine the whole picture, from
emotions to economics?
I suggest that you read this entire report before you go house
hunting. You'll learn how to separate whims from true needs.
You'll discover how to prepare a game plan for your real estate
venture, how to research effectively, choose wisely, finance
appropriately and survive the whole procedure with your smile
intact.
Seven Steps For Success:
1) Establish your needs and wants.
2) Determine how much you can afford.
3) Get prequalified or preapproved by a Lender.
4) Find a good real estate consultant
to help you.
5) Find a home that meets your needs.
6) Make an offer to buy a home.
7) Save as much as you can on the purchase.
A Lender can let you know what specific loan programs would
be best for you. They can also help you understand what it
takes to qualify for the loan that you want.
By taking a look at your financial situation and looking
at your credit history, a Lender can usually give you a good
idea if you can qualify for the loan that you want.
Many Lenders call this "Prequalifying a Buyer."
If you would like to be certain that you can be approved for
a loan, you may want to ask to be preapproved. In the approval
process, all of your documentation is completed and submitted
to an underwriter.
The preapproval you get back is an actual loan commitment
from a Lender. This means that you definitely qualify for
a loan. Talk to your Lender about the costs and time involved,
as they are different for each Lender.
The next step is finding a home that also qualifies for
the loan.
By the time you've done your homework and completed the
suggestions in this report, you will have an excellent overview
of how to find and buy your dream home. And you'll have plenty
of confidence to back up your decision to buy that special
home, too.
Step One: Establish Your Needs And
Wants
Begin your search for a perfect home by making a careful assessment
of the kind of a home you need and want.
I recommend that you take the time to do this in writing.
Take time, right now, to be as specific as you can about
your particular requirements.
Step Two: Determine How Much You Can
Afford
Set up a budget for yourself. Decide how much you can really
afford to invest monthly for your house payment.
Be realistic here. Most Lenders want your payment to be no
more than 45% of your total monthly income.
Step Three: Get Prequalified Or Preapproved
By A Lender
You can save yourself a lot of time and heartache by meeting
with a Lender before you start your search for a home.
Step Four: Find A Good Real Estate
Agent To Help You
You can learn a lot about an agent by just letting them "agent
talk" to you about how they help buyers. Within a few
minutes, you will probably be able to determine if their style
is compatible with yours.
Questions for agents:
1) Are you knowledgeable about the area of town and price
range that we are interested in? (Some agents specialize in
only one area or one price range.)
2) Do you have the time to work with us? (This is especially
important if you're on a tight deadline.) What procedure will
the agent follow in working with you? How often will they
update you with new property listings?
3) Can you represent me as my buyer's broker? Ask as many
questions as you can upfront. By finding a good agent, you
will save yourself huge amounts of time and effort.
Step Five: Find A Home That Meets Your
Needs
Five Tips for Successful House Hunting:
1) Keep an organized record of all your research data. Write
down comments about the homes that you see. Keep track of your
likes and dislikes. 2) Make sure your agent is aware
of your time schedule and expectations. Do you like to look
at one or two homes in a session? Four? Eight? Discuss this
with your agent.
3) Tell your agent about any homes you see that interest
you and that you'd like to know more about.
This includes homes you've "discovered" as you've
explored the area yourself, or those advertised in the newspaper.
4) If you like to spend time driving around by yourself
looking at homes, ask your agent for a list of drive-bys —
homes to consider first from the outside.
Your agent can make appointments later to show you the interior
of those that appeal to you. This helps you to find neighborhoods
that are right for you!
5) Express your likes and dislikes to your agent after you
look at a home. Honest communication is essential.
Many buyers are shy and afraid to tell an agent what they
really think of a house. They think the agent might take it
personally. Remember, the homes don't belong to the agent!
You must be straightforward about your likes and dislikes
in order for the agent to do the best job for you.
Step Six: Make An Offer To Buy A Home
Your real estate agent can help you make an offer to buy the
home that you want. It is important to know beforehand whom
your agent represents.
Some agents work only for the seller. In this case the agent
may not be able to advise you what a fair offer to make is.
By looking at what homes are selling for in the area and
how long they are taking to sell, you should be able to get
a good idea of value.
Step Seven: Save As Much As You Can
On The Purchase
There are only two major investments to consider when buying
a home. These are the initial investment, which includes down
payment and closing costs, and the monthly payment, which
includes principal, interest, taxes and insurance.
Here are five ways to save on your
initial investment:
1) Choose a low down payment loan. You do not necessarily have
to put 20% or even 10% down. You can pay 5% or even 3% down
on some loans.
2) Ask the seller to pay some of your closing costs as part
of your offer. Sellers are usually allowed to contribute to
a buyer's closing costs.
3) Do not pay too much insurance at closing. Some tenders
want 14 months hazard insurance paid at closing. Others want
15 months.
What happens to that extra money? It sits in your escrow
account until you sell the house. It is safe here, but it
often earns no interest.
4) Shop around for your home insurance. A little shopping
can save you money.
5) You can deduct money paid for discount points from your
gross income before computing your tax. See a CPA for more
information.
Here are four ways to keep you monthly payments low:
1) Get a loan that doesn't have monthly mortgage insurance
premiums. You may be able to reduce or eliminate them by paying
a little more at closing. By putting 20% or more down, you
can eliminate them entirely.
2) Take advantage of rate lock programs that are currently
available. You can lock in a low interest rate 30-45 days
in advance.
3) Remember that interest payments on a primary residential
mortgage are fully deductible in most circumstances. Your
property taxes may also be deductible. Tax rates definitely
favor homeowners.
4) Choose an adjustable rate mortgage. Adjustable rate mortgages
(or ARMs) can be up to 3% lower than fixed rates.
Now that you have finished this report, it's time to go
out and find the home of your dreams!
Make sure that you cover all of the steps in this report
in the proper order. See a Lender first. He or she will help
you decide how much of a loan you qualify for. |
