1. Straighten Out Your Finances

Credit reports are a continuing look at how you manage your finances. Before applying for a mortgage, you’ll need to know exactly what your credit reports say about your financial history since the credit reports are an important factor in the approval process for a mortgage and they also determine the interest rate and other loan conditions that a lender will offer you. Also, errors are common in credit reports so don’t be surprised at what you’ll see.

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2. Familiarize Yourself with the Mortgage Industry

A crucial part to your home buying success is finding the right loan and lender. You’ll need to determine what loan and lender will best fit your needs. It is also a good idea to have some background knowledge about the loan process before you speak with a lender.

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3. Get Yourself Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

Getting pre-approved helps your home buying process. By speaking with a lender, you can find out how much you can afford on a house. Getting pre-approved also helps in other ways. For instance, an offer to a seller that is accompanied by a letter from the buyer’s bank stating the buyer is pre-approved for a mortgage in the amount of the offer will always be more attractive to a seller than an offer that has no supporting documents.

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4. Determine What Your Needs and Wants are

You can help your home buying process by familiarizing yourself with the real estate market you’re targeting and narrowing down your wants and needs. Doing this before you start looking at houses will help the process go smoother. Buying a home shouldn’t be difficult, even if your funds are limited.

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5. Familiarize Yourself with Real Estate Agents

Before contacting a real estate agent, it is important to understand the duties and loyalties of a real estate agent. Real estate agents represent buyers, sellers, or both the buyer and seller. In some states, real estate agents can operate as neutral facilitators for the buyer or seller.

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6. Begin Looking for a House

Your real estate agent will provide listing sheets for you to look at. In addition to what your real estate agent gives you, looking in the newspaper, for sale magazines, and on the internet are good ways to see what else is available. Driving out to the homes to preview the neighborhoods and area wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

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7. Take Care of Pre-Offer Duties

Buying a house involves looking at its structure and its features but these are not the only things needed to be done. There are many other topics just as important to your home purchase such as resale potential, deed restrictions, etc… Your decision to buy or not can be based on these pre-offer duties.

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8. Prepare to Make an Offer on the House

There isn’t a universal set of instructions that can cover all the differences in real estate laws and customs that exist. The procedures of making an offer and the specific possibilities that go along with it depend on your location. Be sure to cover all your bases by speaking with your real estate agent.

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9. Take Care of Home Inspections and Any Additional Tests

For some states, home inspections are done before the final purchase contract is signed. In other states, inspections are done after an offer is finalized. Despite when you have the inspections or tests done, it's very important to decide which inspections and tests you want to be done on the house. Speak with your real estate agent or inspector/tester to find out when inspections and tests should be held and if there are any additional types of inspections and tests that are important for that specific area.

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10. Prepare for Closing

As the closing date approaches, every person involved in your home purchase should check its progress daily. Keeping tabs on everything will allow you to know of any problems that arise so they can be corrected immediately so that the final steps of the process can go smoothly as well.

These tips are a general guide for home buying. Remember to ask questions if you have any. Never hesitate to ask questions. Ask as many questions as necessary to help you understand the entire home buying process. Ask whomever you feel can answer your questions whether it is the bank, a real estate agent, etc… You are about to make a long term commitment and are going to spend a very large amount of money. Staying informed and understanding what's going on every step of the way well make you feel much better about everything.

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Home Selling Tips

1. Get Yourself Pre-Approved for a Home Loan

Sometimes sellers sign a contract to sell their home before they know if they’re qualified to buy another home. Some of those sellers ended up renting or buying homes far from their expectations. Before deciding to sell your home, get pre-approved by a lender you trust. After that, research the housing market in the area where you’re targeting. This will give you a good idea of how much it will take to buy a replacement.

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2. Check Your Mortgage Payoff

Contact your lender to check the payoff for your current home mortgage. This figure will be needed to calculate your estimated proceeds later on.

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3. Determine How Much Your Home is Worth

Determine the house’s fair market value. Real estate agents will usually help you determine this value as a courtesy so don’t be afraid to ask. You can always take it a step further and order an appraisal.

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4. Estimate the Cost to Sell Your Home

Estimate the real estate commission if you’re using an agency to sell your home. Estimate any fees for attorneys, closing agents, or any other professionals. Estimate any advertising costs, signs, and other fees if you plan to sell by the owner. These are just a few of the estimations you’ll need to make. Consult your real estate agent to make sure you cover all fees, costs, taxes, etc…

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5. Determine the Cost to Buy a New Home

Tally up your costs to buy a new home. Some of the costs include moving expenses, loan costs, down payment, home inspections, title work and policy, and paying for a new hazard insurance policy. These are all expenses related to buying a new home. A disclosure should have been provided to you by your lender when you applied for pre-approval. The disclosure will have the estimated costs.

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6. Calculate the Estimated Proceeds

First deduct your mortgage payoff from your home's fair market value. Now deduct your costs to sell from the remainder to get an estimate of the proceeds you will be paid at closing. Something to think about is your closing proceeds going to cover your expenses to buy a new home? If it does not, will you have the funding to make up the difference?

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7. Make any Necessary Repairs to Your Home

Unless you want your home to be regarded as a fixer-upper, make sure all needed repairs are done. Anything that is clearly broken gives potential buyers reason to submit a lower offer for you home. Cosmetic updates are a good idea also and will help your cause.

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8. Prepare Your Home for Showing

Most homes need a little tidying up before they can be shown to a potential buyer. Organized closets and cabinets, polished windows and appliances, and a warm and friendly atmosphere will appeal to potential buyers. You can take it a step further by repainting your interior and exterior. There is a great deal of things you can do. All the extra things you do will add up and help your showcase.

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9. Get Ready for Your Guests

Don’t consider it rude if you’re listing with a real estate agent and your agent asks you to leave when the house is shown. This is because lurking sellers make potential buyers nervous. The potential buyers won’t feel comfortable inspecting the house if they feel they are intruding. Also, you don’t always need your real estate agent to be present for your showings. Some real estate agents prefer private interaction with their buyers and usually buyers don’t have time to work around your real estate agent’s schedule. Another thing is to make your home accessible. Many real estate agents won’t bother showing a home if it takes a day or two or more to get into.

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10. Now if You’re Ready, Find a Listing Agent

The listing agent for you isn’t from the largest agency. The listing agent for you isn’t the busiest or has the most experience either. The listing agent for you is the one who will market your home aggressively to potential buyers and to other agents. Try to research real estate firms and when you find one you like, interview their agents until you find the one you like. Ask any questions you think are important. Your decision to hire an agent should be based in part on an instinctive feeling that the two of you can work together.

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