What should I know before buying a house?
Here are some tips that could save you time, money and aggravation.
Plan ahead. Establish a good credit rating and save as much as possible for the down payment and closing costs.
Get pre-approved online before you start looking. Not only that real estate agents prefer working with pre-qualified buyer, you have approved more bargaining power and an advantage over buyers who are not already.
Set a budget and stick to it.
Do you know what you really want in a home. How long will you live there? Your family is growing? What are the schools like? How long is your commute? Consider every angle before diving in.
Make a reasonable offer. To determine the fair value of the house, ask your agent for a comparative market analysis, list of all the sales prices of other homes in the neighborhood.
Choose your loan (and your lender) carefully. For some tips, see the question in this section about comparing loans.
Consult with your lender before the payment of debts. You can even qualify with your existing debt, especially if there is more free money for a down payment.
Keep your job. If it’s a career in your future, make the move is approved for your loan. Lenders tend to favor a stable employment history.
Do not change money around. A lender must verify all sources of funds. Leave everything where it is, the process is much easier on everyone involved.
Not to add your debt. If you increase your debt by financing a new car, boat, furniture or other major purchase, it could prevent you from qualifying.
Timing is everything. If you already own a home, you need to sell your home in order to qualify for a new one. If you are renting, simply time the move to the end of the lease.
How much house can I afford?
How much house you can afford depends on how much money you can put like a creditor, to give you. There are two golden rules:
You can afford a house that is 2 1/2 times your gross annual income.
Your monthly payments (principal and interest) must be 1/4 of your gross salary, or 1/3 of your net income.
Costs of payment transactions and closing – how much money do you need? In general, the more money you put, the more your mortgage. You can put down less than 3%, depending on the loan, but you will have a higher interest rate. In addition, slightly less than 20% will require you to private mortgage insurance (PMI) that protects the lender if you fail to pay the payments. In addition to expected 3% to 6% of the loan amount in closing costs. These are fees required to close the loan including points, insurance, inspections and utility costs. To save on closing costs, you can ask the seller to pay some of them, in this case the lender simply adds the amount to the price of the house and finance it with the mortgage. A lender may also require that you have 2 months mortgage payments in savings when applying for a loan. The mortgage – how much can you borrow? A lender will look at your income and existing debt when evaluating your loan application. They use two ratios as guidelines:
» Read more: Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Home Mortgage Loans – DTN Mortgage – All Types Of Home Loans