Buying a house is a major decision, if it’s your first time then it’s important to do your homework. It can all seem very complicated and time consuming. Whilst it is certainly a daunting prospect, it should be an exciting time in you life and you should be happy with every decision that you make. It is vital that you understand all of the steps that you must take on your purchasing journey. Here are some great tips to help you on your way:
Consider how much you can afford
When you sit down and think about how much it is you can afford to spend on a property, you should take in to consideration the following points; down payment amount, monthly expenses, credit rating and your income. When you put all of this information together you will get a better idea of what sort of price range you should be looking at. You need to know how much you can pay towards your mortgage on a monthly basis, without this information you really can’t start looking for a house. A great tool to use is a mortgage calculator, this tool will help you work out what you can afford.
Choosing the right loan for you
The biggest things to look at when choosing a mortgage are the interest rate and the length of the loan. It’s simple, the higher the rate of interest means the more money you will be paying back each month. You then need to decide if you want a fixed rate of interest (the interest rate stays the same throughout your loan) or an adjustable rate (the interest rate will change). The usual lengths of mortgages are 15-30 years.
FInding your house
By now you have worked out what you can afford so it’s time to start looking for you home. You should always consider the following criteria; location, value and amenities.
Making the offer
More often than not people do not offer want the seller wants for the house. Be sure not to offer an amount which the seller might be insulted by. Usually you will make an offer and then the seller will come back with a counter offer – the counter offer is usually between your offer and the asking price.
The paperwork
Once you’ve inspected the house and had your offer accepted it’s time to sign the papers. This final process is known as closing. This is when you complete and finalise all of the details of your property purchase. The date of taking ownership of the property is also agreed, in some cases in can be immediately.
