Buying your first home is one of life’s biggest financial decisions. This comprehensive guide will walk you through each essential step to help you navigate the homebuying process with confidence.
Contacting Gale early in your home-buying process will make your experience much more enjoyable. Gale is experienced with first-time and seasoned home buyers.
Gale can help you establish your property search area and set alerts for homes that match your criteria. No need to doom-scroll on various real estate websites!
Your credit score is crucial for mortgage approval and determining your interest rate. Pull your free credit reports from all three bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com. A FICO score of 620 or higher is generally recommended for conventional loans, while FHA loans may accept scores as low as 580.
Determine how much house you can afford by evaluating your monthly income against expenses. Lenders typically require housing expenses to be 25-28% of gross monthly income.
Getting pre-approved for a mortgage will show that you are a serious buyer. Another option is pre-qualification. What’s the difference?
Pre-Qualification is a “soft” credit check and can provide you with loan estimates that fit your income and budget.
Pre-Approval is a “hard” credit check and provides you with a conditional loan commitment.
In competitive markets, homes sell fast. Have your financing ready and be prepared to make decisions promptly.
Having an experienced agent like Gale Cox will help you prepare the best offer. She has the tools and technologies to make this part of the process go smoothly.
Gale will guide you through the appraisal and home inspection processes. You’ll have your final mortgage approval, title search, and final walkthrough.
