Tips For Buying A Home As A First-Time Home Buyer
Posted on: 19 June 2018
Buying a home for the first time is a new process, so you'll want to get the best help finding an affordable home to fit your needs. This process involves searching for and negotiating a fair price for the right home, then financing the home at a cost to fit within your budget. Here are some tips to help you succeed through this process as a first-time home buyer:
Use a Realtor
As a first-time home buyer one of the first steps you should take is finding a realtor to help you. You can shop around to find a realtor you like who has the right experienced to help you out. You can ask around with those you know for referrals, or visit some local open houses to meet the realtor selling the home. This latter method allows you to "shop" the realtor without letting them know you are testing their knowledge and expertise.
Once you choose the realtor for your home-buying process, they can help you find single-family homes for sale that fit your needs, and then help you negotiate a purchase price and complete the necessary contracts to acquire the home. Your realtor will make sure all home inspections are completed within the proper time frame and your mortgage broker has their required contracts to process your financing.
Seek the Right Financing
As a first-time home buyer, you can take advantage of some great financing programs that are set up for you to buy a home. When you look for a loan program to buy a home you need to consider the interest rate for the loan, which can vary depending on the program. Each program has a different cost according to its interest rate; the higher the interest rate, the more you will pay on your loan in interest.
Some financing programs offer you the market's mortgage rate; this can be a benefit if the market rate is on the low end. Other programs give you an adjustable rate mortgage, which starts out at a rate lower than the market rate but increases slowly over time. There are also specific programs for those buying their first home to help them afford the interest costs associated with financing a home. This first-time home buyer mortgage is only available to you the first time you finance a home. It will give you a reduced rate, often lower than other low-rate programs and even lower than the mortgage market rate. Talk to your mortgage broker about this qualifying program and what the current rate is available for it.
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