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, where we provide useful information to help Houston first time home buyers make the most informed decision when it comes to buying, decorating, and maintaining their first home.
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 decision that will lead to a close for them and maybe 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 not get the scores unless you pay for them, but 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? You may also have to hold off on the holiday shopping until after you close on your new home.
Getting your paperwork in order will not only help the process goes smoothly but you will also avoid much stress and frustration once the process begins and through the end.
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. Once you begin the process, do not forget to rely on your Realtor. It really is in your best interest to do so.
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
