Articles / your first time
Getting ready for your first time . . .
/ By Mj Gladding 10.25.06 When my husband and I decided we were going to buy a house, we were ecstatic. FINALLY, we would be paying toward something, not just throwing our rent money out the window every month to a landlord. We would no longer be paying to live; we would be putting our money into our very own home !
Sounds romantically fantastic, doesn't it? We gushed to one another about
mowing lawns, painting bedrooms, carpet installation, 2 car garages and
weekend projects -
just like the Bob Villas and that cute Ty Pennington
guy from Sears take on.
They sure are handy, and extremely clever!
You've heard the ole' cliche, "If we knew then what we know now?"
Well, here are some good tips for the swooning first time homebuyers out
there.
FYI -- being pre-qualified is definitely not the same as being pre-approved.
* Pre Qualify: only a brief look at your financial situation is required to pre-qualify you and that generally only takes a few minutes.
* Pre-Approval: is jumping through all of the hoops that the lender has specified . . . and then some. With an amazing amount of info being scrutnized before your very open eyes. It is an extremely long process, so be very organized, and very prepared.
Just so you know, the loan process itself is very intrusive. There are a gazillion plus personal questions and documents that are required to satisfy the lender's requirements. Be prepared to have your life spilled before you on a bank conference table. Have your income tax returns from the past 2 years, pay stubs from work, etc at your fingertips.
Your worst nightmare is falling in love with a home based upon a pre-qualification
and then discovering that you can't actually afford it.
To omit one
of the largest sources of stress, secure the loan before
falling in love with the property. You already know that you can
buy what you are trying to buy when you are pre-approved. You are not
wasting your time looking at houses that are either unattainable or do
not meet your needs. Instead, you are focusing on homes that are in your
price range in the areas that you want to be in.
Just like any other product that you are looking to buy, DO YOUR HOME WORK. When Rob and I first met Rebecca Woodard of Century 21 premiere Properties in Rutland, VT, we should have had this list of questions and answers with us. Wouldn't you be shocked to find out in front of your real estate agent that your husband wants to live in West Rutland when you want to buy a house in Rutland City? Or that he wants a ranch style and you absolutely hate ranch style and want colonial? Yes, this did indeed happen to me and yes there was a fight in front of the real estate agent. So save yourselves the embarrassment and answer these questions IN PRIVATE prior to your meeting the agent.
- Where do you want to live?
- What style home will work best for you?
- Old or new construction?
- How many bedrooms and bathrooms are essential?
- What can you absolutely NOT live without?
- Is there room to have overnight guests?
- How far away do you want to be for your commute to work?
- How far away do you want to be for your childrens schools?
- Is a two story or a split-level better for your family?
- What are the school districts like?
- Neighborhood?
- How big of a yard would you need?
- Will you have pets - how many?
You get the idea. A LOT of specifics have to be answered.
In my husband's case it was a garage - to house the tools he had to have and never used. Sound familiar? And remember, when looking over your yard; you have to mow it!
You should also take into consideration that this is your first home. Don't go "over the top" and become house poor because you want it all at once. Be modest in the beginning. The average couple only spends 3-5 years in their first home. Look at homes that you can afford and still be able to have a savings account.
