Three Things First Time Home Buyers Should Consider Before Starting The Process

Hi, thank you for stopping by on this very overcast Tuesday afternoon. I will not keep you long. We are just going to touch, just a bit on a few thing you should consider before you begin your first time home buying process.

As a first time home buyer specialist since 2011, one of the first things I advice my home buyers is to check their financial (income), credit and employment health to see if they are ready to buy a home. Why? because these are the three things, that will determine if you will get approved for a mortgage or denied.

Your financial (income) health will let the loan officer know if you can take on a mortgage and still meet your other financial responsibility such as car payment, student loan (if you have any) credit card debt etc,.

Your employment health will let the loan officer know if you have been at your place of employment long enough to qualify for a mortgage loan. FHA, VA, and USDA all require a minimum of two year employment without gaps.

Regarding your credit health, to qualify for a conventional loans, a minimum credit score of 620 is required. For FHA loans, you can qualify with 500 credit score however, it will require 10% down payment and may require additional paper work. If your score is 580 or higher you can qualify with 3.5% down payment. If you are interested in getting down payment assistance, your scores will need to be at least 620 or higher. For USDA, and VA loans, they have no minimum credit score, however lenders like to see at least 640.

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