8 Tips for First Time Home Buyers: Tip #1
Buying your first home is a complex and stressful event in
your life. For some, just the thought of it or the fear of the unknown is
enough to make your head explode! Wouldn't it be nice if someone could write a
guide for first time home buyers? You're in luck! The following 8 Tips for
First Time Homebuyers are going to lay out the transaction process, loan
programs, credit concerns, down payments, total costs and fees, as well as
other information to give you enough confidence to boldly consider owning your
very own home!
The Home Buying Process
While there are many steps between renting and getting
handed the keys to your very first home, the process can be divided into a few
main categories.
·
The Home Search Stage
·
The Pre-Approval Stage
·
The Home Viewing Stage
·
The Offer Stage
·
The Inspection Stage
·
The Appraisal Stage
·
The Closing Stage
Otherwise known as HPHOIAC..or HIPPOHOIACK. (This is
not real, and nobody uses its, but feel free to make it your own!)
The Home Search Stage
Nine-Five percent of all home buyers start their search
online. Before the internet, the only way to access homes for sale was through
your local Realtor. Now you can log on to your favorite real estate site and
get information (though not always accurate or reliable) about any home for
sale in the country! Most buyers live in this stage for 12-18 months before
moving on to the next stage.
The Pre-Approval Stage
 Most buyers do not go through this stage in this order. If
you are interested in a home, you go to a Realtor who can gain access to that
home. Although you SHOULD get pre-approved before the Home Viewing Stage, most
Realtors are happy to meet with you and discuss the process - but will want you
to get pre-approved before showing any homes. Pre-approval just ensures that
you are able to afford the homes that you are looking at. Many buyer's will
scoff at this idea, but because a Realtor is paid on commission, their most
valuable asset is time. If a Realtor spends time on activities that don't
promise to produce any income, they will quickly work themselves into
unemployment!
The Home Viewing Stage
 You are pre-approved. Congrats! Now you're Realtor is madly
scouring all available sources of homes for sale to find the house that will
become your home! This can become a frustrating time as you learn to balance
between your wants, available homes, and your price range. You may want to give
up, but you can't. You can't because new homes are hitting the market every day!
Other properties are reducing the price and now are in your range! If you take
a day or two off, you might miss your dream home!
The Offer Stage
Talk about daunting! This is where you found a house to call
a home. You write your earnest money check of $500+, gulp! This is the biggest
transaction in your life and look at all those zeros! Are you freaked out yet?
It happens to everyone. A good Realtor will help you overcome those fears by providing
you with helpful information and planning. Earnest money is a good thing.
Before EM, sellers could sue potential buyers for failing to perform the
contract. Now, the worst thing that can happen is you lose your EM. A good
Realtor will protect you from losing your EM by keeping on top of important
dates and including multiple contingencies! Another use of EM is to show the
seller you are serious about your offer. You did mean to offer all that money,
right?!
Stay Tuned for Part 2 of 8 Tips for First Time Home Buyers:
Tip #1
We will cover the Inspection, Appraisal, and Closing stages!
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