Guide to Your Hassle-Free Home
Purchase
Buying a home can seem like a frightening
prospect. Whether it's your first home or your fifth, so much is at
stake-your savings, your credit rating, and your financial freedom.
It's difficult to find the courage to sign on the dotted line even
if you want that home very, very badly.
How do you determine whether the
purchase of a home makes sense?
What's the easiest way to examine
the whole picture from emotions to economics?
I suggest that you read this entire
report before you go house hunting. You'll learn how to separate
whims from true needs. You'll discover how to prepare a game plan
for your real estate venture, how to research effectively, choose
wisely, finance appropriately and survive the whole procedure with
your smile in place.
SEVEN STEPS FOR SUCCESS
1. Establish your needs and your wants.
2. Determine how much you can afford.
3. Get pre-qualified or pre-approved by a lender.
4. Find a good real estate agent to help you.
(That would be Us)
5. Find a home that meets your needs.
6. Make an offer to buy a home.
7. Save as much as you can on the purchase.
STEP ONE: ESTABLISH YOUR NEEDS AND
WANTS
Begin your search for a perfect home by making a careful assessment
of the kind of home you need and want. We recommend that you write
it down. Take time, right now, to be as specific as you can about
your particular requirements.
STEP TWO: DETERMINE HOW MUCH YOU
CAN AFFORD
Set up a budget for yourself. Decide how much you can really afford
to invest for your monthly house payment. Be realistic. Most lenders
suggest that your payments be no more than 28 percent of your total
monthly income.
STEP THREE: GET PRE-QUALIFIED OR
PRE-APPROVED BY A LENDER
You can save yourself time and heartache by meeting with a lender
before you start your search for a home. A lender can let you know
what specific loan programs would be best for you. He can also help
you understand what it takes to qualify for the loan that you want.
By taking a look at your financial situation and looking at your
credit history, a lender can usually give you a good idea if you can
qualify for the loan amount that you want. Many lenders call this
'Pre-Qualifying A Buyer'.
To be absolutely certain that you can
be approved for a loan, you may want to ask to be pre-approved. In
the approval process, all of your documentation is completed and
submitted to an underwriter. The pre-approval that you will receive
is an actual loan commitment from a lender - your guarantee of loan
approval. For more information about the Pre-Qualification or
Pre-Approval process, contact a Home Loan Specialist
STEP FOUR: LET THE GALE TEAM HELP
YOU FIND YOU HOME!
You can learn a lot about an agent by just letting her talk to you
about how she helps her buyers. ALWAYS hire a buyer's agent Within a
few minutes, you will probably be able to determine if her style is
in line with yours. Ask as many questions as you can up front.
Finding a good agent will save you huge amounts of time and effort.
To contact us, email or call Laurie or Marty Gale, Gale Team, Gales@utahteam.com
or 888-898-9502 or locally in Salt Lake City, Utah at 801-205-3500
for Marty or 801-205-1600 for Laurie.
STEP FIVE: FIND A HOME THAT MEETS
YOUR NEEDS
Five tips for successful house hunting:
- Keep an organized record of all your research data. Write
down comments about the homes that you see. Keep track of your
likes and dislikes.
- Make sure that your agent is aware of your time schedule and
your expectations. Do you like to look at one or two homes in a
session? Four? Eight? Discuss all of this with your agent.
- Tell your agent about any homes that pique your interest and
those you'd like to know more about. Include those homes you
discover as you explore the area yourself or those you see
advertised in the newspaper.
- If you want to spend time driving around looking at homes
for yourself, ask your agent for a list of drive-by homes which
you can consider first from the outside. Your agent can than
make appointments to show you the interior of those that appeal
to you.
- Express your likes and dislikes to your agent after you see
a home. Honest communication is essential. Some buyers are shy
and hesitant to tell an agent what they really think of a house.
They think the agent may take it personally. Remember, the homes
don't belong to the agent! You must be straight forward about
your likes and dislikes to enable the agent to do the best job
for you.
STEP SIX: MAKE AN OFFER TO BUY A
HOME
Your real estate agent can help you make an offer to buy the home
that you select. By looking at homes selling in the area and the
length of time is takes to sell, you should be able to get a good
idea of value.
STEP SEVEN: SAVE AS MUCH AS YOU
CAN ON YOUR INITIAL INVESTMENT
There are only two major investments
to consider when buying a home. These are the initial investment
(including down payment and closing costs) and the monthly payment
(including principle, interest, taxes, and insurance). Here are some
ways to save on your initial investment:
- Choose a low down payment loan. You do not necessarily have
to put 20 percent, or even 10 percent, down. You can put 5
percent, or even 3 percent, down on some loans.
- As part of your offer, ask the seller to pay some of your
closing costs. Sellers are usually allowed to contribute to a
buyer's closing costs.
- Shop around for your home insurance. A little shopping can
save you a significant amount of money.
- You can deduct money paid for discount points from your
gross income before computing your tax, which would effectively
reduce the cost to you. Check with your CPA.
Keep your monthly payments low
- Get a loan with no monthly mortgage insurance premiums. You
may be able to reduce or eliminate them by paying a little more
at closing. By putting 20 percent or more down, you can
eliminate them entirely.
- Choose an Adjustable Rate Mortgage. ARMs can be up to 3
percent lower than fixed rates. Remember that interest payments
on a primary residential mortgage are fully deductible in most
circumstances. Your property taxes may also be deductible. Tax
rates definitely favor homeowners.
Now that you have finished this
report, it is time to go out and find the home of your dreams. Make
sure that you cover all steps in this report in the proper order.
First, see a lender. He/She will help
you decide the value of the loan you for which you will qualify.
Second, find a good agent. Give me a call. I'm ready to assist you
in your home buying process.
Create your List of Homes online Today!
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