Tips for first-time homebuyers
Great article by Nena Groskind in the Herald today.
If you’re going to be buying your first home, keep these things in mind:
(H)ere are my top 10 suggestions for first-time purchasers:
- Credit reports. Don’t even start looking at homes until you’re sure bad credit or errors in your credit history won’t block you from getting a mortgage.
Before house hunting, get a copy of your credit report from one or more of the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
You’re entitled to a free report from each company once per year. (See AnnualCreditReport.com for details.)
- Loan pre-approval. Have a bank review your financial information and “pre-approve� you for a mortgage.
Once you’re pre-approved, actually getting a loan is usually only contingent on how much the home you want to buy appraises for.
Mortgage pre-approval is better than “pre-qualification,� which just tells you how big a loan you’ll qualify for if your application passes the lender’s review.
- Be realistic. Carefully consider how much home you can really afford. Just because the bank says you qualify for a $300,000 mortgage doesn’t mean you can comfortably make the monthly payments.
Leave yourself some wiggle room by buying a home somewhat cheaper than the most expensive one you can get approved for.
All ten tips: Advice for new house hunters - by Nena Groskind, The Boston Herald
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