20 Things To Do Before Buying A House
20 Tips For Buying A Home
What are the most important things to do before buying a house? An excellent question is it not?
Being informed is important when you are making big financial decisions, and there are few financial decisions bigger than buying a home. Take the time to educate yourself about what you are getting into before you commit to buying any property. The following tips are here to help you get started. These 20 things to do before the purchase of a house will put you in a position for not only a smooth transaction but a pleasant first time home ownership experience.
1. Know your credit score.
Your credit score is one of the biggest factors in what your loan terms will be. Know your score before you ever try to get a loan, and take the time to repair it if it is lower than 700. A good score which leads to a low-interest rate can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. See how to raise your credit score to get better loan terms.
2. Have a lender pre-approve you before shopping.
What to do before buying a house includes getting pre-approved. In fact, it is one of the most important parts of the home buying process! Pre-approval means you should be able to get the loan as long as nothing changes about your financial situation or your credit score.
A pre-approval letter also helps when you want to compete with another buyer for a home you love. One of the first things most sellers are going to ask their agent when receiving an offer is how qualified the buyer is to purchase. Sellers want to feel comfortable knowing the buyer is not going to get turned down for the loan. A home buyer should understand there is a difference between a mortgage pre-approval and a pre-qualification. To get pre-approved lenders will verify employment, income, and credit. Often this is not the case with a pre-qualification.
3. Shop the lender.
While getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a significant step for a first-time buyer so is shopping for the best...
