First Time Homebuyers

Practical Tips for the First-Time Home Buyer

The decision to go from renter to homeowner is a big one. When you own your own home there are a lot of responsibilities, but there are also a lot of benefits. Buying a home for the first time can be intimidating. The reason it's daunting is because, for most individuals, it's the single largest purchase they're ever going to make.

To ease your fears and ensure you make the best choices, there are some things that every first-time home buyer ought to know:

1. Determine what you'll be able to afford. Before you start house hunting, figure out exactly how much you can afford to spend.

   - Make a budget by taking your monthly income and then subtracting all of your monthly expenses. This will tell you how much you can afford to spend on your mortgage payments.

   - As a general rule of thumb, it's recommended that you spend no more than 28% of your income on housing costs.

2. Determine what your monthly housing costs will be. Your monthly housing costs won't just include your mortgage payments, but also your property taxes and homeowner's insurance.

   - To figure out what your mortgage payments will be, talk to a lender to get preapproved for a loan. They will be able to tell you what the interest rate on your loan will be and what the monthly payments will come out to. If you need a referral to a good lender, contact us and we'll get you pointed in the right direction

   - Find out what the current property taxes are, so you can add these into your monthly expenses. Sometimes, your property taxes are added on to your mortgage payment.

   - To figure out how much you might have to spend on homeowner's insurance, you can contact different insurance providers for quotes. Shop around for the best rates!

3. Get in touch with a real estate agent. It's a good idea to work with an agent from early on in the process so you don't limit your options.

   - A Movemint agent can help you focus on properties that give you the best financial outcomes in your desired geographical area(s) and price range.

   - We can also make sure you understand the process of making a successful offer, negotiating with the seller, and navigating through the mountain of paperwork that has to be filled out when purchasing a home.

Keep These Tips in Mind While House Hunting:

1. Location is key! You've no doubt heard it before, but it's not necessarily just about what you think

   - If you have kids you might be looking for a house in a particular school district. Perhaps you want to be near restaurants and shopping. In addition, you want to understand how different locations can affect your future income potential from your property. Figure out your location needs and communicate them.

2. Sometimes houses blend together when you see several in one day. Gather information about each house, so you can go back and review it later.

   - Make notes about each house you visit, jotting down the things you like or don't like. You can even rate each house on a scale of 1 to 10.

   - Take pictures of the houses you look at. This will help you remember some details after a long day of house hunting.

   - After looking at a number of homes, go back to your top choices for a second look, if you have the opportunity.

At this point you're ready to make an offer to buy your first house. Your Movemint agent will give you some advice about how much to offer, and then they'll deliver your offer to the listing agent. If all goes well, it won't be long until you're moving into your first home.