Buying a Home?
Whether you are planning to purchase a home in the near future, or expect that decision to be years away, here is the information you need to prepare for when that day does come. Who knows, it could be sooner than you think!
- Get Prepared!
- Prequalification Questions
- 1st Time Homebuyers
- Selling and Buying
- Buying a Second Home or Investment
1 Year Out
- Have New Solutions pull your credit so you have time to review and improve credit scores.
- Eradicate and payoff “toxic” debt: credit-card balances and payday loans. These are signs you’re living beyond your means. If you don’t get your overspending problem fixed before you buy a home, your problems likely will get worse because homeownership typically involves plenty of big costs (property taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs, improvements, decorating). Get your act together before you house shop.
- Save, save, save. Stop eating out. Drop your cable-TV subscription. Do everything you can think of to put as much money aside as possible, using your desire to be a homeowner as a motivator.
- Put your bills on automatic. A single 30-day late payment can knock 100 points off your score, and it can take many, many months to recover. Make sure every bill gets paid on time.
6 Months Out
- Call New Solutions to begin a mortgage budget this will help you decide on a comfortable mortgage payment and home price. We will review what you have saved, what you have paid off and what you will qualify for.
- Adjust your saving strategies. based on budget findings above.
3 Months Out
- Reduce your credit utilization. The FICO scoring formula is sensitive to how much of your available limits you’re using on your credit cards and other revolving lines of credit. The less, the better. It doesn’t matter if you pay your balances in full every month; the figure the scoring formula typically uses is the balance that shows on your most recent statement. Try to keep that balance below 30%, or even lower.
- Don’t open or close any accounts. Until the mortgage process is completed and you’ve moved into your new home, continue to avoid actions that could potentially harm your credit, such as opening credit accounts or closing old ones.
2 Months Out
- Get an idea of the mortgage rate you can expect. New Solutions can order a fresh set of FICO credit scores — don’t worry, checking your scores doesn’t ding them — and talk to Kay Corbin-Riddle, or another licensed loan officer about what rates you might qualify for.
- Get approved for a mortgage ahead of time. Pre-approval, in which a lender gives a commitment to make you a loan, is different and more valuable to sellers than pre-qualification, which merely gives you an idea of the size of the mortgage you might afford without making any commitments.
- Begin researching neighborhoods. At this time New Solutions will put you on an auto-e-mail search which will e-mail you every matching property to hit the market daily. This keeps you in the know and you can browse from your living room. narrowing down the neighborhood will give you power when purchasing because quickly you will become very familiar with the listings and prices and we will jump on the right home when it hits.
- Once you’ve found your home and your offer is accepted, New Solutions will walk you through the mortgage, appraisal, home inspection, what to expect at closing. We are hear for you every step of the way. With every Solutions to your needs.
- How much of a mortgage payment would you be comfortable with? A payment range, to include taxes & homeowners insurance.
- Are you buying the property as a primary, 2nd home, or investment property.
- Is the property a SFD, condo, duplex, tri, etc, etc?
- How long have you been on your current job.
- Are you hourly, salary, or self-employed.(how are you paid – twice a month or every two weeks)
- Do you pay or receive child support/separate maintenance.
- Have you had any bankruptcies or foreclosures in the last 7 years.
- 2 part question – What are your total assets to include checking, savings, 401-k, stock options, etc, etc. And how much of this do you want to use.
- Do you rent and or own – how long have you been there. Do you pay by check, cash, money order. And have you ever been 30 days late in the last 12 months.
- (I do ask if they have had credit pulled in the last month or so, and if so, if they knew their credit scores) And I ask specific credit questions, relative to their payment history.
Buying a house can be easier than you think! Whether you’re looking for your first home, your home to retire in, or if you’re somewhere in between, I’ll help you find a safe and comfortable place to call home.
First Time Buyer?
If you are thinking of buying your first home you may be feeling a bit scared, confused or all of the above. I understand. It can be an intimidating experience if you don’t have someone you can trust at your side walking you through every step of the way.
The first step you need to take if you’re going to be financing the purchase of your first home is to obtain a mortgage pre-approval. Once you have this pre-approval, you will be able to view homes within your price range of what you want to spend.
If you’re selling and buying a home, the fist step you want to take is to find out how much your current home is worth. Once you know what your home will sell for, you will also know approximately how much money you will have available for the down payment on your next home. Give me a call at 301-455-7591 Cell and we can talk about the details of your situation.
Give me a call at 301-455-7591 Cell and we can talk further about your specific situation and start you on the road to home ownership now!