There are 10 Steps to Successful Home Buying:
- Get pre-approved for your loan.
- Determine if buying a home now is smart for you.
- Then design a buying strategy.
- Study the real estate market.
- Identify neighborhoods you like.
- View specific homes.
- Pick a home that meets your needs.
- Check property information and analyze value.
- Negotiate the contract.
- Troubleshoot the purchase to closing and move.
Of the 10 Steps to Successful Home Buying,
The first step--unless you are paying all cash--is to meet with the mortgage broker to have your loan pre-approved. This is important for several reasons:
- Loan underwriters have specific guidelines they must follow. Don't accept a "go for it" and "see me later" approach. Work with a lender who has done their homework and will give you the amount and payment you are approved for. Nothing will throw a wrench into things faster than a mortgage company that drops the ball on this all-important aspect of homebuying.
- Knowing you are pre-approved lets you shop with confidence in the right price range and makes home-buying more stress-free and fun.
- Pre-approval adds more power to your negotiations and more leverage with the seller. It can be better than a cash offer, since, quite often, cash offers require some borrowing.
- You dispel Seller fears of entering into a contract, anticipating a possible move, and then discovering the buyer did not qualify.
- You avoid major disappointment, if after the contract the lender turns you down. Too often, if one makes an Offer subject to financing and isn't pre-approved, they can get discouraged and not buy for months and even years later. By waiting you risk housing prices increasing a loss of equity by owning sooner. Should mortgage rates go up, affordability declines further.
Take the right steps and work with a sales representative who will guide you through the buying process. Consider a buyer consultation with a Century 21 representative in Niagara. Our in-house mortgage brokerage department can help you with this all-important first step.
Posted by Eugene Pilato
on April 8, 2009