No matter how committed to getting your own home you are, you should know how to prepare for home ownership! If you have lived in your apartment or rental home for some time, we would guess you have wondered if it is possible for you to own your own home. At Mountain Realty Group we enjoy working with First Time Home Buyers and are happy to help with tips to place you in a position to purchase a home. There are many habits to begin now to make you a candidate for home ownership.
Improve and Clean up your Credit Score!
Your credit score will be one of the primary factors considered by a loan officer so you want it to be working to get and keep your score up and also be sure the report is clean of any errors.
Stop using your Credit Cards
This does not mean to get rid of your Credit Cards but stop using them and work to increase the available credit on the cards. Your debt ratio will be considered so the more credit available credit on your cards the better.
Can you reduce any of your monthly payments?
Loan officers will look at your available monthly funds for the ability to make monthly payments. If you have an auto loan and several credit cards that take up most of your monthly funding you will want to decrease your monthly payments. You don’t want to appear as you live paycheck to paycheck.
Begin to develop your Dream Home in your mind.
You may live in this home for 20 plus years. How many bedrooms and bathrooms will you need as you move through your life? Take time to consider your home needs. What home amenities are important to you.
Get Pre-approved
This is so important. Find a mortgage loan company or bank and get pre-approved. You will want to know your price range and be considered as a serious buyer when you make an offer on a home.
Save! Save! Save!
You will likely need a down payment on a home, and closing costs when the sale is complete so we can’t stress saving enough. Learn about the differences between USDA, FHA, VA loans and more and see what might be best for you. In any case Save Save Save! Once the home purchase is complete continue to save for a maintenance budget.
Mountain Realty Group looks forward to working with you to become a home owner. Often it can take time to have all things in place to begin your home search. Expect to spend 6 months building credit and saving as a minimum goal. If we can help you in anyway contact us at 865-908-2909.
