Essential First-Time Home Buyer Tips and Tools

Buying your first home is a big step. It is probably the biggest investment you will ever make. It can be stressful to say the least. Triangle Experts is here to help. Here are some tips and tools for first time home buyers to take some of the stress and mystery out of the home buying process. As always we are here to help, contact Sharon with any questions or concerns you may have!

Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

1. Get your finances in order!

Get a copy of your credit report and make sure it is correct! This is a huge part of your ability to get a Mortgage and a reasonable rate. In general 35% of your score is based on Payment history and 30% of your score is based on Amounts Owed, 15% is based on length of credit history, 10% is based on New Credit and the last 10% is based on types of credit used.

2. Get Familiar with the Mortgage Industry

Finding the right loan and lender is crucial to your home buying success. Use one of our mortgage calculators to understand how much house you can afford. And, contact Sharon for a great mortgage company referral.

3. Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

Pre-approval helps you in the negotiation process. When a home seller gets two similar offers and one is accompanied by a letter from the buyer's bank that states she is pre-approved for a mortgage in the amount of the offer, the seller is more likely to consider the offer that has been pre-approved.

4. Know Your Wants and Needs

The home buying process will go a lot smoother if you get familiar with your real estate market and narrow down your wants and needs before you start looking at houses. Do a home search online to see what is available in the areas your are interested in.

5. Learn to Work with Real Estate Agents

Real estate agents represent buyers, sellers, or both. They are there to help! Use their understanding of the market, homes and the home buying process to get the house you want at the price you want. Learn about Buyers Agency [BuyersAgency.htm] or contact Sharon.

6. Handle Pre-Offer Tasks

We always take into consideration the features of a home when deciding whether or not we want to buy a house, but there are other issues that are just as important to your purchase. Some things to consider are: What’s the resale potential? Understand any Contract Contingencies that might exist. Are there any structural issues? Contact Sharon for great referrals for home inspections.

7. Make an Offer

There are some home buying tips that can help you fine-tune your offer. Some things to consider are: What Comes With the House? What Should the Seller Disclose? Decide How Much to Offer.

8. Home Inspections and Other Tests

In North Carolina, a home inspection is done after an offer has been submitted, and often the offer will be contingent on whatever the Home Inspector finds. It is important to understand which inspections and tests you want to perform. These may vary depending on the area you are buying in, the age of the home and state and lender requirements.

Some of these may include:

9. Avoiding and Correcting Last Minute Problems

A good real estate agent will be checking the progress of all the last minute details need for the close on a daily basis. Be sure you keep up with your responsibilities as well!

Things Home Buyers Should Not Do Before Closing on a Home

1. Don't Make a Major Purchase Before you close!
An increase in your debt-to-income ratio reduces the amount of monthly income available for your mortgage payment.

2. Don't Change Jobs Unless You Have To

3. Don't Let Your Emotions Take Over
Keep a cool head during the entire home buying process, especially during and after a home inspection. Be realistic. No home is perfect, especially older homes. It's not unusual for new owners to take care of some repairs themselves. Don't let the seller's refusal to do a small repair kill the deal on a home you really love.

4. Don't Forget to Switch Utilities
See our Utilities directory for companies in the Triangle area of North Carolina in our Newcomer section!

5. Don't Go It Alone
If you're working with a real estate agent, it's the agent's duty to track many of the day-to-day details that involve the lender, the seller, or the seller's agent. Be sure your agent schedules a final walkthrough just before closing.

8. Don't Ignore Lender Requirements
Know what is expected of you and take care of it. For instance, a Certificate of Eligibility is required to move forward on a VA loan. That's something you must handle yourself. Answer lender questions and provide required paperwork as quickly as possible--moving into your new home depends on it.

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