Life is full of exciting first experiences. From your first footsteps to first day at school, every initial experience has its own joy and memories. And such might be the case with your first home purchase. If you are looking to purchase a home after renting for years, or looking to buy a place with your spouse or partner, purchasing your first properly is always a big step. At this stage of life, it takes a lot of preparation before buying the first home and a little tuck never hurts.
Prior to buying your first place, it is always a good practice to do some simple research and understand the best ways of buying new properties. This will ensure less misses and more hits in your new endeavor. Let’s dive into some helpful insights with ten useful tips that need consideration before buying our first residence:
- Consider how much deposit is needed
Before even starting to explore properties, you should start saving for a deposit. By a general rule of thumb, you should try save at least 5 to 20% of the total cost of the property you wish to purchase. For instance, if you wish to buy a property worth $ 150,000 you will typically need to have at least $7,500 as down payment. Saving more than at least 5% will make it trouble-free for you to apply to a wider range of mortgages with cheaper rates.
- Consider if you are mortgage-worthy
Once you have saved enough cash, the road to purchase might seem easy, but what happens when it comes to your credit? Getting a mortgage nowadays is a lot tougher than it used to be. Lenders now look closely at all documentation of your assets, debits, income and liabilities. This is done to ensure that you don’t exceed maximum debt-to-income ratio. You need to know how important it is to keep up your credit score before approaching a mortgage. A credit score above 700 will help you get most competitive interest rates. Once, you have settled with your money options, it becomes easy to explore market and find the house of your dreams.
- Exploring the market through MLS
The MLS (multiple listing services) is one of the most reliable sources for finding properties on sale. By setting up a meeting with your realtor, you can explore innumerable MLS search engines that provide direct MLS search listing access. You can also subscribe to auto-alert with these engines in order to get daily updates and emails anytime something new hits the realty market. SCUDO’s MLS search tool is the most up to date with current listings: https://scudore.com/homes-for-sale-search-advanced/
- How long do you plan to live in the home?
This will help you gauge what type of improvements should be made that will recoup the most return on your investment, and can also impact tax breaks, etc.
- Mind the details of your home, both exterior and interiors
Needless to say, when looking for home, you need to pay attention to little things. Hearing any cracking in the floors or the walls, or slanting in the flooring might indicate trouble. Witnessing spiders in your new home might not seem a big deal, but it could be an indication of a large problem that might come up once you move in. Also, you need to pay attention to exteriors of the house. Check if anything is present that is rotting the wood on the outside of the house. How your outdoor landscapes appear? Is there any outdoor setup that needs updating or repairing? Ignoring these things might result in added cost for you. SCUDO ALWAYS recommends getting a thorough home inspection prior to purchasing your home to limit as many surprises as possible.
- Use the house inspection to your best advantage
Without a doubt, an inspection for your house prior to buying it is essential. The process of inspection may reveal flaws within the property ranging from problems with the foundation to the damage in the roof. If you witness such defaults, you don’t have to walk away. Always remember that the list price takes in account the structure, age, style, size, neighborhood, condition, market and facilities and several other miscellaneous factors. If your inspection reveals that the house is priced unfairly, your agent might be able to get the price lowered down or have Seller’s make repairs before purchase.
- Mind the neighborhood and areas around
Many first time buyers in cities like Kansas City tend to be young families or professionals. Younger Buyers often seek convenient access to arts, culture, nightlife, shopping and good food. To cater to their requirements, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood is good options. They include re-energizing downtown areas and communities with history and character. If as a first time buyer, you are unable to afford your ideal neighborhood, you can look to buy a property in a new and upcoming part of the town. All you need to do is to be mindful that your purchase price reflects your home’s market value.
- Learning about your housing finances and foreclosure
When searching for home, every first time owners should be aware of terms like homeowner’s insurance, private mortgage insurance (PMI), property tax rates in their location, and amount of money they are pre-approved for. According to a study, most first time property buyers are least knowledgeable about PMI during their talk with Lenders. First time home buyers should also know the significance of buying an affordable loan. Foreclosure can have both long term and short term consequences on your financial condition. Foreclosures can also lead to large tax bills and probably a serious red mark on your credit file.
- Is your house worth the money
The place in which you plan to live is an investment and the money factor will always be relevant. As soon as you start living in your new home, you might feel that you are spending more than you wanted to. But appliances and interiors of your home, it might be worth it. If your house is in a condition that you don’t need to outgrow it in a few years, your money is paying off. So, take your time and decide whether each investment is worth it.
- Building plans around your location
You might not feel good if you find out that the elementary school is being built right down your neighborhood. And as a result you will have to face daily traffic on your street. Not only it will create a nuisance in your peaceful life, it will also lower down the resale value of your home. To avoid this, you need to explore the location and know if there are any future building plans in and around the location. Your real estate agent can be of great help in determining the future plans of the location so that you can choose your best option.
Let SCUDO help you find your dream home today! Contact us below to start your search today:
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