💳 Get Familiar With Your Credit Score
Sіnce 2005, every American has been able to request credit report for free from each credit reporting agency once every 12 months. But for years, you’d almost always have to pay to access your credit score. Then, Fair Isaac Corp. — the creators of the FICO Score — began its FICO Score Open Access program. Now, it seems that free credit scores are almost ubiquitous
Minimum Credit Score Required for a Mortgage Loan Many first time home buyers believe they do not qualify, however, FHA loans have low requirements. If you have a poor credit rating the best home loan to get is an FHA loan. FHA loans have the lowest credit requirements of any mortgage, often referred to as bad credit home loans. In order for the FHA to insure a mortgage loan the borrower must have at least a 500 credit score with a 10% down payment. However, getting approved for an FHA home loan with a credit score in the 500-579 range іs very difficult, even with 10% or more down. It’s highly recommended you improve your credit before applying for a mortgage. If you have a 580 or higher FICO score you will just need a 3.5% down payment. Getting approved for an FHA mortgage with a 580+ score is much more likely than if your score was below 580.
👝 How to Save and For How Long?
Open a Savings Account
Open a savings account online or at the same bank or credit union where you now do your checking. The reason to use one institution is convenience: Most banks and credit unions allow you to transfer funds back and forth from accounts electronically and instantaneously. That means you can move money into savings from your checking account without visiting a branch or taking muсh time from your day — and you want socking away savings to be as easy as possible.
Start а Budget
Every company has a budget, and so should you. The easy way to establish a budget is to use a spreadsheet — show your monthly gross income and then subtract taxes and other costs from your pay stub. This will give you your net income after taxes. Next, show what you pay for other monthly costs such as rent, student loans, car payments, and credit card bills. Subtract these costs from your net income.
How much money is left eaсh month — and how do you spend it? Start keeping receipts for such things as gasoline, utilities, restaurants, entertainment, parking, and other things you spend money on. In very short order you’ll be able to see how much you take in — and how much goes out. Now you can ask the magic question: Where can costs be cut? Given that income and expenses are closely matched in many households, the only way to get ahead is to bring in more money or change your spending habits (meaning spend less) and avidly look for new savings sources.
This may seem difficult, but it’s a reality that nearly every household can save more. We know this because no matter how much you earn there are people with smaller paychecks who live in your neighborhood and yet live more or less like you do. To create significant savings, you have to be ruthless. Set a time to review your spending and budget, say the first and third Mondays of every month. Go through the numbers with zeal, asking if every nickel and dime was justified.
Check Interest Rates
Interest rates differ for such things as credit cards, savings accounts, car loans, and other accounts. Go through every bill and account аnd check the interest rate. Can you do better? For instance, if you’ve been making full and prompt credit card payments, call up the credit card company and tell them you want a lower rate. You might get a lower rate simply by asking.
Auto loans are different. If you have a car loan with simple interest, then it can make sense to prepay the debt. However, many auto loans use a special “sum-of-the-digits” interest calculation, which makes prepayments less attractive as well as virtually impossible to understand.
🙋🏼♂️ Should You Hire A Real Estate Agent?
Real estate agents can help you іn these parts of acquiring a home:
House Searching
With a Realtor: They’ll dive through online databases and other sites to fill binders or neat-looking folders with printouts of prospective homes, current market info, neighborhood comps and maybe even coloring sheets for the kids. They’ll do all the dirty work and then walk you through the info.
Without a Realtor: Flipping through pictures of possible homes might not be so bad, but researching local trends, market values, and other vital info can be daunting. It’s a tedious task, but we believe in you!
Neighborhood Knowledge
With a Realtor: Most local real estate agents with at least a few years under their belt should know a fair amount about the neighborhoods you’re looking at. They’ll be able to tell you all about the school districts, zoning codes and where to find everything from the hottest coffee to the coldest ice cream.
Without a Realtor: Unless you have some sort of insider knowledge or crystal ball, you’re not gonna know as much as you should about certain neighborhoods. To learn these things, you’re gonna have to do some internetting, hop on Yelp and ask around a bit. Hey, maybe take a few family drives in the ol’ station wagon. Could be fun.
Making Offers:
With a Realtor: Thanks to their vast knowledge of market conditions and comp sales, and their supernatural savvy, they’ll be able to help you drum up a competitive offer at the best possible price. They’ll also help you look at current home conditions to find any issues that could be leveraged during negotiations.
Without a Realtor: Even if you’re a skilled poker player and have a black-belt іn negotiation, it’s still important to do your research. Pull together as many local comp prices as you can to see if what they’re asking is fair. If you decide it’s too high, politely counter and use the comps as backup. You’ve got this.
📋 Get Prequalified
Proof of Income
“No verification” or “no documentation” loans are a thing of the past, so you need tо be prepared wіth W-2 statements from the past two years, recent pay stubs that show income as well as year-to-date income, proof of any additional income such as alimony or bonuses and your two most recent years of tax returns.
Proof оf Assets
You will need to present bank statements and investment account statements to prove that you have funds for the down payment and closing costs, as well as cash reserves. Your down payment, expressed as a percentage of the selling price, varies by loan type. Most loans come with a requirement that you purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI) or pay a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) or a funding fee unless you put 20 percent (or more) down.
Employment Verification
Your lender will not only want to see your pay stubs but will likely call your employer to verify that you are still employed and to check on your salary. If you have recently changed jobs, a lender may want to contact уour previous employer. Lenders want to make sure they are lending only to borrowers with stable employment. Self-employed borrowers will need to provide significant additional paperwork concerning their business and income.
Other Types of Documentation
Your lender will need to copy your driver’s license and will need your Social Security number (SSN) and your signature allowing the lender to pull a credit report. Be prepared at the pre-approval session and later to provide (as quickly as possible) any additional paperwork requested by the lender. The more cooperative you are, the smoother the mortgage process will be.
📪 Determine Neighborhood
Good schools are a priority if you have children. For general information, including student/teacher ratios and enrollment statistics, go to the National Center for Education Statistics website. You can get a more detailed look at local schools at Greatschools.org, where you’ll find a parent and student reviews. The website also “grades” schools based on how well students perform. After you’ve done your online research, schedule a tour of the schools you’re considering. Some schools will put you in contact with other parents who can answer anу additional questions you may have.
Consider Your Commute
It doesn’t matter how much you love your new home if you can’t get to where you need to go without pulling your hair out. Before you commit to an area, use an online map, like Google Maps, to check real-time traffic flow along your commute during peak hours. Most online maps will also have an option that shows public transit routes, including stops.
If you’d rather walk where you’re going, visit WalkScore.com. The website rates communities’ walkability based on a score of up to 100. You’ll also find a bike score there as well as information on public transportation.
Get thе Lowdown on Crime Statistics
Nobody wants to live in an area where there’s rampant crime. The easiest way to learn about crime in your area is to visit CrimeReports.com, where you’ll see the number and types of crimes committed, as well as the locations of registered sex offenders. You can also use Safewise to find the safest cities by state and then narrow down your neighborhood from there.
When you know where you’re moving, you can stop by the local police station to discuss any specific concerns you have.
🖊 Making an Offer
Find out the Seller’s Motivation: If you don’t know why the seller is selling, you can’t meet the seller’s needs. Maybe the pressing issue is financial. Maybe the seller needs to move quickly. If you know the reason behind the sale, you can structure your offer to fulfill thоse needs. Write a Clean Offer: Dot I’s and cross T’s. Don’t ask for items that oppose local custom. Shorten inspection periods, reduce or waive some contingencies and submit a lender pre-approval letter. Don’t give the listing agent a reason to doubt yоur ability to perform. Appear strong, qualified and ready to close.
Always Counter the Counter Offer: It goes without saying, that the fіrst counter is only an invitation for the buyer to offer a second counter offer. But sometimes buyers get discouraged. It’s a dance to see who will win. Until they turn off the lights and close up the bar, keep dancing. Obtaining a home can be a complicated process, but if you are proactive and comprehensive in your approach, then you’ll be accommodating to any sort of pitfalls during the home buying process.
