6 Tips for First Time Home Buyers
You did it. You saved enough money for the down payment on a house here in Kansas City and the extras such purchase might entail. Now, how do you go from looking online at dozens of houses for sale in your price range to actually making an offer? Here are 6 Tips for First Time Home Buyers.
6 Tips for First Time Home Buyers
- Before house hunting, get pre-qualified – talking to different lenders and seeing not only who offers the best rates and terms, but also manageable fees and costs. Lender fees can vary quite a bit from one to the next. The mortgage industry has three main types of lenders:big banks and credit unions, mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers.
- The big banks and credit unions have checking and savings accounts and car loans and home loans and just about anything you might need for your financial needs.
- Mortgage bankers focus on home loans, and they use their own funds to make loans. Mortgage brokers contract with banks, mortgage bankers and private lenders to arrange for home loans.
Pre-qualification gives you great information about how much house you can afford and allows you to move quickly if you find the right house.
- Get professional help – Find a realtor you can trust. Yes, you have unprecedented internet access to sellers’ information, but a realtor has years of experience that can help you with everything from the area, the appraising of a dwelling, the paperwork, the comparisons, and negotiation on price
- Check out the schools – What is the reputation? Can the kids walk to school? Is there an alternative school available, like a charter school or parochial school if the public school doesn’t work out?
Three more of 6 Tips for First Time Home Buyers.
- Always hire a general home inspector. Hiring a home inspector is recommended right after the offer-to-purchase contract is signed and prior to executing the final purchase and sales agreement. There should be a clause that ensures that the purchase obligation is contingent upon the findings of a professional home inspection. The inspector will examine the exposed portions of the home, such as the roof, attic, walls, ceilings, and electrical systems.
- Beware of sleeper costs – Comparing the monthly mortgage payments to paying rent is only part of the story. The bank may require property taxes and insurance to be part of the monthly mortgage payment. Then there’s the unexpected. When a couple I know first moved into their house, the front, cement porch collapsed costing them $1,500 to repair.
- Understand the need for title Insurance. The seller produces and signs a warranty deed at the real-estate closing. It includes a full legal description of the property and pledges that the seller owns clear title to the property changing hands. The warranty deed also guarantees that the property is free of all liens and encumbrances. Title insurance can further strengthen warranty deeds. Title insurance compensates the property owner in case of any third-party claim on the property.
Terra Firma Property Solutions, LLC is a professional, full-service real estate solutions firm.
We buy and sell properties throughout the greater Kansas City area. We specialize in buying distressed homes, then renovating and reselling them to home buyers and landlords. Terra Firma Property Solutions is excited to be part of the economic rejuvenation of Kansas City and its surrounding areas.
Call us today at (816) 866.0566
