Top 10 Most Powerful Home Buying Tips For Success:
Buying a home is one of the biggest emotional and financial decisions you will ever make. Homeownership has it's responsibilities and being a homeowner is something to be proud of but it also means having to invest money, time and energy and take on added responsibilities. So before you decide to buy a home, make sure you're ready and you are well informed about the process and today's Real Estate Market..
A home often symbolizes family, rest, and security — it’s not just four walls and a roof. Because of this, home buying can be a very emotional undertaking. To enhance your buying experience and to provide you with critical buyer information, MyDaddyHomes have put together the Top 10 Home Buying Tips For Success.
1) Hire a Buyer Agent: A "Buyer Agent" will help you navigate the entire process from searching for homes, putting in offers, negotiating with sellers, hiring home inspectors, real Estate Lawyers and all the other requirements that goes along with buying a home. Click here to learn how to hire a good Buyer Agent
2) Where the money for the purchase will come from: Typically homebuyers will need 5% of the purchased price for a down payment and 2% of the purchased price for the closing costs. However, with today's broad range of loan options, having to save for a down payment is not always necessary. If you can prove that you are a good financial risk to a lender you may be eligible to buy a home with "No Money Down."
3) The neighborhood: Research the neighborhood that you intend to live in, location strongly affects prices. Find out about schools, transportation, amenities and the like. Homezilla is a great tool that you can get quick information about any neighborhood in Canada.
4) How long do you plan to live in the home: If you purchase a home and get a job transfer or decide to move after only a short time, you may end up paying money in order to sell it. The value of your home may not have appreciated enough to cover the costs that you paid to buy the home and the costs that it would take you to sell your home.
The length of time that it will take to cover those costs depends on various economic factors in the area of the home. Most parts of the country have an average of 5% appreciation per year. In this case, you should plan to stay in your home at least 3-4 years to cover buying and selling costs. If the area you buy your home in experiences an economic up turn, the length of the time to cover these costs could be shortened, and the opposite is also true.
5) Housing criteria - How long the home will meet your needs: What features do you require in a home to satisfy your lifestyle now? Five years from now? Depending on how long you plan to stay in your home, you'll need to ensure that the home has the amenities that you'll need. For example, a two-bedroom dwelling may be perfect for a young couple with no children. However, if you start a family, you could quickly outgrow the space. Therefore, you should consider a home with room to grow. Could the basement be turned into a den and extra bedrooms? Having an idea of what you'll need will help you find a home that will satisfy you for years to come.
6) Affordability - Your financial health: Is now the right time financially for you to buy a home? Would you rate your financial picture as healthy? Is your credit good? While you can always find a lender to lend you money, solid lenders are more skeptical if your credit history is not good. Generally, a couple of blemishes on a credit report will make you a good credit risk and could qualify you for the lowest interest rates. If you have more than a couple of blemishes on your report, lenders may still provide you with a loan, but you may just have to pay a higher interest rate.
Some say that you should refrain from borrowing as much as you qualify for because it is wiser not to stretch your financial boundaries. The other school of thought says you should stretch to buy as much home as you can afford, because with regular pay raises and increased earning potential, the big payment today will seem like less of a payment tomorrow. This is a decision only you can make. Are you in a position where you expect to make more money soon? Would you rather be conservative and fairly certain that you can make your payment without stretching financially? Make sure that whatever you do, it's within your comfort zone.
7) Get Pre-Approved: To determine how much home you can afford, talk to a lender. Pre-approval will give you a ballpark figure of how much the bank would be willing to lend you. Are you looking for a $150,000 house or a $500,000?
8) The ongoing costs of home ownership: Maintenance, improvements, taxes and insurance are all costs that are added to a monthly house payment. If you buy a condominium, townhouse or apartment, a monthly homeowner's maintenance fee is required. If these additional costs are a concern, you can make choices to lower or avoid these fees. Be sure to make your realtor and your lender aware of your desire to limit these costs.
9) Don't be afraid to ask your Buyer Agent questions. If you don't know or feel uncomfortable about something ask your buyer agent questions.
10) Is this the right house for you? You have financing in place, the house is the right location, within your price range and you like it, don't get buyers fright and be scared to put in an offer. Pull the trigger! BUY! BUY! BUY!
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