A Guide: Buying A Home

Buying A Home

Buying a home is can be a pretty complicated business. You'll have to go through piles of paperwork, do a lot of looking around, and navigate the loan process - and then hope the seller accepts your offer. Below are some general tips you can follow to smooth the journey.

Tips:

• Figure out how much home you can afford. Consider down payment, closing costs, mortgage, insurance and taxes.
  
  
• Decide where you want to live. Think about your commute to work, area schools, and resale value of the homes in various neighborhoods.
  
  
• Think about what kind of home you want. Do you want a newer home that requires little or no remodeling? Or would you prefer an older home with character that might require some fix-up work? One story or two? Are you interested in a condo or townhouse?
  
  
• Start going to open houses to see what the market is like. The more homes you look at, the better idea you will have of what you can afford and what you do and don't like.
  
  
• Homes in metropolitan areas tend to be more expensive. The farther away from town you go, the less expensive the home prices will be.
  
  
• Home values fluctuate with the economy.
  
  
• Hire a real estate agent to represent you in buying a home; or decide that you want to handle the transaction alone.
  
  
• Come talk to us and get pre-qualified for a home loan.
  
  
• Find the perfect home for you and make an offer.
  
  
• Close on the sale of the home and move in!