5 Steps To Take Now If You’re Thinking of Buying Your New Home This Fall
Hello and welcome to Houston First Time Home Buyers Edition. As expected, the Federal Reserve cut rates yesterday September 18, by a hefty half percentage point. This was their first rate cut in 4 years. What does this mean for first time home buyers that have been waiting for rates to drop?
It means they can now begin their home buying process. As of this morning, mortgage rate was a nice 6.17%. Cheers all around. To get the ball rolling, here are 5 things to do if you are thinking of buying your first home this fall.
Work with a Realtor - that will look out for your best interest. You do not want to work with someone that is only looking out for their interest. If you do, you may be pushed into making a buying decision that will lead to a close for them and buyer’s remorse for you.
Know your credit scores - Your TransUnion, Experian and Equifax credit will show different scores. By obtaining a copy of your report from AnnualCreditReport.com, you will get to see everything that is being reported on your credit. By doing so, you will be able to fix any information that could potentially derail or delay your home buying goal.
Know your source of down payment -Will it be coming from your savings, your 401K, family, friends or from one of the many down payment assistance programs available?
Having your paperwork - ready to go will avoid frustration once the process begins.
Obtain your pre-approval-Not pre-qualify. The difference is major. Getting pre-approved means, you have completed and submit your mortgage application, your loan officer has reviewed your financials, pull and reviewed your credit. On the other hand, getting pre-qualify, means you have provided some basic information to the loan officer. Nothing have been verified. The lender may have done a soft credit check before giving you an estimate of how much you qualify for. This process is relatively quick and the information received from the loan officer is not always reliable.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by. Remember, if you are thinking of purchasing your first home, please contact us. We are here to help. We have been helping Houston first time home buyers since 2011 and we can help you. I hope you have an amazing day. Until next time...Diana
