4 Tips for First Time Home Buyers
Chris Holm
Whether buying or selling, hundreds of clients in the Armstrong and North Okanagan area have relied on Chris Holm since 2007...
Whether buying or selling, hundreds of clients in the Armstrong and North Okanagan area have relied on Chris Holm since 2007...
4 TIP FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS
Buying a home, especially your first home, is both exciting and scary. Scary in the way that it's the biggest purchase you will make in your life time. Most of the time, first time home buyers are uncertain of where to start. This can cause a lot of heighten emotions when it comes to starting the process. Today, we are going to give you our top 4 tips on buying your first home and the do's and don'ts of this exciting journey.
FIRST THINGS FIRST,
Before jumping into buying a home, sit down (or schedule a video call) with a mortgage broker. This will get you started with the finance side of buying a home.
Find out where you sit with your credit score, how much you will be able to afford, and the price range of homes you should be looking within. If you find out that your credit score isn't where it should be, now is the time to start asking about ways you can strengthen it. Some of which will be using your credit card and paying off the balance periodically, making sure to pay bills and debt within a timely manner, etc.
As much as we all want to own million dollar homes, we need to factor in what we as an individual can truly afford first. Don't be discouraged if your first home isn't above $500k and within a coveted neighbourhood. Start small and work your way towards your end goal.
If you are looking for a mortgage broker and are within the North Okanagan, we highly recommended Kelly Rowe.
HOLD OFF ON BIG PURCHASES,
When you make the decision to pursue purchasing a house, a huge tip is to holding off on making any big purchases.
Lenders will be watching the movement of your money within 3-6 months prior to the purchase of your first home, or your next home. If the purchases aren’t a dire necessity, hold off. Showing lenders that you can be reliable with your money will help you in the long run when getting your loan.
Also, try not to move around big lump sums of money. This is another thing lenders will be watching for within the months prior to purchasing your home.
MAKING AN OFFER,
When making an offer on your home of choice, you should be factoring in these two things: What you can afford and what you feel the house is worth in your opinion.
The last thing you want happening is having your offer accepted at a price point that is outside of your budget. Being happy with the price point you are willing to spend will make you feel comfortable when submitting an offer.
Make sure you and your realtor are scoping out the neighbourhood to see what other homes went for, in order to make the best offer.
ALWAYS REMEMBER,
There is more to owning a home than paying your mortgage. Be aware that on top of your mortgage you will need to factor in property taxes, utilities, and any additional monthly expenses as per the property and personal needs.
When you are ready to make an offer, have your realtor go over the monthly expenses for the property you are interested in. Having a general idea of the monthly expenses on top of the mortgage will help in deciding whether the home is right for your budget.
Let us know in the comments on our Facebook or Instagram post what other tips you'd like when it comes to buying and selling your home!We hope this blog helped you
Chat soon,
Amanda + Team
Photo's courtesy of Pexel.