Things to keep in mind while buying a home!Posted by Nick Niesen on November 8th, 2010 Buying a home is really exciting. But before buying there are certain things you must look for and here are they to help you out. Whenever you are looking to buy a house get a pre-approval document. A pre approval document is needed by the real estate agent to show that you are ready and serious about buying a house. It will add on to the advantages and will empower you to negotiate a better offer to buy the home of your dream. You should get a copy of you FICO score. Most of the people start looking for a home then applying for a home loan only to find out later that there is something wrong with their credit. Do not let this happen to you. So get a report before finding a home. A FICO report is a tally of your credit score aggregated from the three major reporting credit bureaus. Any negative information such as collections, late payments and bankruptcies can tarnish your score. However you can fix your credit score by paying off the collection accounts, pay your bills on time and paying down any credit cards to lower 40% the maximum limit. In a few months you can raise your FICO score by as much as 20 to 100 points. This means better loans term when applying for a loan. So do not forget to get your FICO score before buying a home. There are costs in buying and selling a home. If you sell a house prematurely it may prove to be disadvantageous to you. The right alternative can be refinancing. So buy a house for a longer period at least two to three years. You must aim for a house that you think can afford to buy making the monthly payments. Do not buy a house that is unnecessarily expensive. You should buy a house that is right for you. As house purchase can prove to be your biggest investment you make, hence you would prefer to get a good return in future. You have to live in the house you are buying so buy it at a location that is convenient to you. When looking for right locations consider good future equity appreciation, safety, a good school district and a nearby freeway access. Always compare the price of the houses you are going to buy with you neighborhood. Once you have found the house of your choice you must compare its prices with the other houses in that area the price should not differ more than 5 percent than the average cost of the houses in that area. You must also get a house inspection done before making a deal. This inspection can help you find the damages that may need certain repairing by the seller. It is always in your hand to crack the best possible deal for yourself. All you need to do is be cautious when making a choice. Alex Tonel is editor of http://www.realmortgagedir.co.uk>UK Mortgage Directory and http://www.realeducationdir.co.uk>UK Education Directory Like it? Share it! More by this author |