As a first time home buyer, the process can be exciting or it can be a nightmare. If you know what you’re doing ahead of time, you can save yourself a lot of headaches and trouble. So here are a few things you should know before jumping in headfirst:

Know Your Credit Score

As you’ve heard time and time again, one of the most important things you should know before you buy your first house is your credit score. The best way to figure this out is to get a credit report. With the recent subprime mortgage crisis, credit scores are more important than ever. This means you should have a fairly good score if you expect to qualify for a decent interest rate.

Know the Grants and Other Programs Available

All first time home buyer you should learn about the many grants and programs that are available. First time home buyers can get special interest rates or perks that other buyers can’t get. However, after buying your first house these incentives are gone. So if you just settle for the first thing that comes along, you will permanently miss out on these programs.

Some grants may even help you get assistance with your down payment. These grants and programs can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage. Just be sure to investigate all of the available programs fully before you make a decision.

Know the Market Value

Another thing to know as a first time home buyer is the different markets that you’re thinking about buying into. If a certain area’s property values are falling, you should probably steer clear. If the area isn’t family friendly and you hope to have a family, you might want to check out a different area.

Ideally you should look for growing areas that are well kept and safe. These areas will make it much easier to resell your house and realize appreciation. The last thing you want to do is buy into an area that is dead or dying.

Know Your Budget

The first thing you should do before buying your first home is to establish your budget. Go into the process with a maximum total amount in mind. Know how much you can afford and don’t budge above that number. You don’t want to do become saddled with too much house and too much debt.

After you’ve done these things, feel free to get started. See? Becoming a first time home buyer doesn’t have to be a grueling experience. It can be fun and exciting for you and your family as long as you know how to make it that way.

Obviously, you have a large population to pick from when it comes to finding a real estate agent. So where should you start? First, you need to know how to spot the characteristics of a “good” real estate agent.

Your agent should be a trusted advisor and a great listener, because only by listening will they be able to help you achieve your goals. Further, your agent should be skilled at negotiating so that they can obtain the best possible terms in your transaction.

Your real estate agent also needs to be a good facilitator. This may be most important as it involves paying attention to detail during the entire loan process.

Despite having defined a good agent, choosing one may still prove difficult. After all, you can’t really tell how knowledgeable an agent is until you’ve spent some time with them or at least had a lengthy conversation. Here are a few specific things to pay attention to:

• Observe how quickly they call you back.
• Talk to them about your goals and see if they were listening.
• Ask them about their experience.

However, having many years of experience in the business doesn’t mean they’ve grown professionally over those years. Someone with 10 years in the business may only have 1 bad year repeated 10 times. The choice depends on your goals and whether you require specialized knowledge that might only be found with an experienced agent.

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Buying real estate can seem a little stressful – that’s for sure. If you’re new to the process, you might feel overwhelmed with all of the things you need to do. However, if you break it down into manageable steps, it’s not really that difficult. With the proper guidance, you can get through this, relatively painlessly. Let’s look at what you should do if you’re buying real estate:

Establish a Budget

The first thing that you need to do is figure out what your price range is. You don’t want to look at $5 million homes if all you can afford is a $200,000 starter home. You want to make sure that you get something that you can comfortably afford. With the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis, many people figured out how painful it is to buy more than they can afford.

There are a few different ways to figure out how much home you can afford. One of the easiest ways is to meet with a mortgage broker and have them pre-approve you for a certain amount. Let them figure out what the monthly payment would be and make sure you’re comfortable with it. Or there are several mortgage calculators that you can use online.

Look at Price vs. Value

Make a list of features you’re looking for. Look for those features within your budget. Remember that the lowest price doesn’t always mean the best value. Some houses with a lower price might require a great deal of repairs. However, there might be a house that’s just a little bit higher priced, but is in much better shape.

Decide On a New Home vs. an Older Home

Many people have a preference one way or the other. Older homes often require more work and updating to get them to where you want. However, newer homes often have higher prices and might not be built as good as the older houses. Many new builders tend to take shortcuts that weren’t considered when the older houses were built. Decide which type of houses you want to focus on.

Get a Home Inspection

Regardless of what type of home you decide to buy, when you’re buying real estate, you want a good inspector. Before you make an offer on any house, make sure that you can have an inspection done before the deal is settled. A good home inspector can catch some of the big problems that you’d never think about. This could potentially save you thousands of dollars on a single house. Ask around to find a good inspector. You don’t want to just pick the first one that’s in the yellow pages. Make sure that they know what they’re talking about.

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The Real Estate Agent’s Role

A real estate agent must represent their client with complete honesty. The listing agent will help the seller determine a fair and equitable sale price for the home, where the buyer’s agent is available to answer any questions, find prospective homes, and provide services that fit each client’s needs.

Here are some of the specific services a real estate agent will assist a homebuyer with:

• Finding grants and loan programs for first time homebuyers
• Helping clients find and buy bank foreclosures
• Contacting sellers on behalf of the homebuyer
• Writing contracts to ensure adequate terms of sale
• And in some cases, helping the buyer acquire the proper financing

The Home Buyer’s Role

The most important job of a prospective homebuyer is to ask questions. Search for homes within your price range and do not try to exceed your means. Research the area and know what you are looking for.

Exercise your own knowledge and protect yourself and your rights. Always make sure to get any verbal statements and agreements put into writing. At all times, you should be aware of the terms of your contracts and any legal agreements.

Important Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent

• How long have you been in real estate?
• What is your personal mission statement?
• What is your over-all rank amongst your brokerage?
• Will you be representing both the buyer and the seller in this transaction?
• What will you be expecting from me?

You can even ask your real estate agent for a list of professional references and how many of their customers are referred by past and current clients.

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Many people who wish to sell their home have to face the question: when is the right time of the year to do so? The truth is, there is no clear answer to this question. The answer depends on too many factors, all of which are subjective in nature.

People who are looking to buy a home do so based on many different reasons. Are they being relocated due to a job transfer? Have they been waiting for their home to sell? The only clear trend is during the spring and summer when there is always a higher number of homes sold.

There are, however, other factors to consider. Do you want to sell in a busy market or a slow market? A busy market means there will be a lot more competition. If you feel as if your home may not stand up well to heavy competition, then it would be better to wait for the market to slow down a bit. If, on the other hand, you position your home so it’s competitive in the market, then the market activity is less of a consideration.

While seasonal trends are important they’re not the most important thing. The most compelling factor in selling a home is your own needs. There has to be a reason why you are selling your home, and there is probably a deadline that you need to have it done by. Focus on these factors rather than the time of the year.

Apart from current market conditions you should also understand where the market is going. This involves a bit of research to figure out future trends from past ones. Though you cannot accurately predict the future of the market, you can get a reasonably close picture. Talk to your real estate agent. They have the expertise you need to help make a well-informed decision.

Remember, you only need one buyer!

In my previous post I talked about writing the offer, but there are additional steps to close the sale after the purchase and sale agreements have been signed.

There are many opportunities for surprises or delays in a transaction. Part of my expertise is troubleshooting problems that arise during the closing so you don’t experience the difficulties other buyers have so often.

My goal is to become your real estate agent for life. If you have been victim of some of these experiences from previous home purchases, I would like to know about it.

Give me a call and you can share your prior experiences with me. Even if you’re not ready to purchase a home, it’s good to know about your past history so when you are ready, I’m already prepared.

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Once you find the home you want to buy, the next step is to write an offer – which is not as easy as it sounds. Your offer is the first step toward negotiating a sales contract with the seller.

Since this is just the beginning of negotiations, you should put yourself in the seller’s shoes and imagine his or her reaction to everything you include.

In an offer to purchase real estate, you include not only the price you are willing to pay, but other details of the purchase as well. This includes:

• how you intend to finance the home,
• your down payment,
• who pays what closing costs,
• what inspections are performed,
• timetables,
• whether personal property is included in the purchase,
• terms of cancellation,
• any repairs you want performed,
• which professional services will be used,
• when you get physical possession of the property,
• and how to settle disputes should they occur.

Buying a home is a major event for both the buyer and seller. It will affect your finances more than any other previous purchase or investment. In the half-hour it takes to write an offer you are making decisions that affect how you live for the next several years, if not the rest of your life.

I would be glad to help you. It’s why I am a real estate agent – to help people have an enjoyable experience when purchasing or selling a home.

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If you have ever spoken to someone who is in the process of buying their first home, you know just how stressful the process can be. You lose sleep over it. You obsess over it. You spend hours every day, reading books on mortgages, looking for new listings online, and tweaking your budget to get a few extra dollars for the monthly payments.

You might look at this person and think to yourself that you will never let yourself get that way over a house. But you are probably wrong.

Buying your first house is stressful. You don’t know fully what you’re doing, and there’s always the worry that you will mess things up terribly and end up homeless somehow. In the end, it all works out, but while the process is ongoing, it feels like you are caught in a whirlwind of documents to sign, numbers to crunch, and deadlines to worry about.

The only thing I can tell you is, everyone goes through it, and we all get past it. It’s stressful and crazy, but in the end, you will be sitting in your living room with a cup of tea, and you can sit back with a big sign, and say, well, at least it was all worth it.

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Many people consider the first house that a person owns to be their “practice” house. It might be a smaller home, and the idea is to live there a few years, get used to having the responsibilities of a home owner, and then sell it and move up to a bigger and better home. So, do you have to do this? No way.

If you find the perfect house or condo right off the bat, no matter the size, do not feel pressured to sell after a set amount of time. You may want to stay in this home for a year, five years or a few decades. The decision is yours to make. If it feels right to you, and you can afford it, then don’t let anyone tell you to do something different.

Some people are lucky enough to find that perfect house immediately – the rest of us are just jealous, because we hate having to move so often to the next step up on the housing ladder. Eventually, we’ll get to where you are – happy with the homes we have.

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A lot of people will tell you that your first home ought to be tiny. It ought to be small, and cramped, and not all that great. Grow, they tell you. Start small, and work your way up. Sell that house in a few years to some other youngster, and move into an intermediate house.

But is that the way you have to do it? How big or how small should your first home be?

The funny thing is, there is no rule for this. Yes, in the past, people bought small first, then moved up, mostly due to finances. But if you can afford larger or nicer options, there is nothing wrong with jumping ahead a few spaces in the home owner game.

The one thing to keep in mind is that owning too large of a home can be a headache. Cleaning rooms that you rarely use, paying for electricity and heat for too much space, and paying higher property taxes than you need to can really be a pain. That’s not to say you can’t do it, but be aware.

Buy whatever size of home feels right to you, no matter what the traditions say. You want a home that you will want to live in.

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