Posts with tag 'first time home buyers'

The home-buying process is long and arduous. You often spend months searching for the right home before you make an offer and once an offer is made and accepted, you must jump through several more hoops before the sale closes. An important part of the process is the home inspection where a professional makes sure everything in the house is functioning properly and identifies needed repairs.

The buyer pays the cost of a home inspection but can always wave the right to an inspection. That's not a good idea. You should make a home inspection a mandatory part of the home-buying process. You need unbiased documentation of the home's condition. This goes for both the purchase of a pre-owned home as well as new construction.

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Ready to purchase your first home? Though the process may seem overwhelming, knowing where to start is half the battle. Follow these five tips to help ease your stress and prepare for a smooth home buying experience.

Clean Up Your Credit Score

Having good credit is one of the most important factors when qualifying for a loan. Depending on where your score stands, it may take six months to a year to improve your credit. Although scoring requirements vary from lender to lender and there is no magic number that qualifies you to purchase a home, a low score could mean higher interest rates and fewer mortgage options. Check your credit early and make a financial plan to increase your number. A mortgage professional can pull your credit for you and create a plan to improve your score.

Evaluate Your Monthly Cash Flow

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Deciding on where to live can be one of the most important and stressful decisions you and your family will make. So many aspects of your life is linked to where you live, including where you work, what schools your family will go to, the friends everyone will meet, the types of activities that will fill your days, and the opportunities to enjoy the world around you. But like any other daunting task, the decision of where to live can be best accomplished by breaking it down it smaller choices, then narrowing the field from there. Take into consideration a place's climate, arts and culture, history, economic strength, schools, and more. It's important to not only weigh and prioritize your o...

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Finding the perfect starter home is a journey as well as a destination. You've got to know what you want, then adjust expectations to meet the reality of the market. In the end, you don't have to settle on your "forever home"—just a place you'll call home for at least five to seven years.

But that's a long time in homeowner years, especially if you wake up each day in a place you wind up hating.

So how do you know what's going to stand the test of (a decent amount of) time? You've never done this before. You're taking a leap of faith that you have the money, skills, and tem...

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