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7 things to know before buying a home

7 things to know before buying a home

People who have never purchased their own home may have little idea about the nitty-gritty details of the buying process. There are several things to know and consider when one invests one’s hard-earned money into buying property. Not knowing these things can result in individuals making mistakes that, either immediately or over the long term, can derail the home-buying and owning experience. So, here are seven things to know before buying a home.

The right realtor is key to getting the right house
One must do research before picking a real estate agent. Once people shortlist the realtors they wish to work with, meeting them personally and discussing house-related preferences is necessary. Good realtors carefully listen to the wants and needs of future home buyers, resulting in home seekers being shown properties that match their preferences.
Comfort levels and confidence in real estate agents are positive attributes. Contracting a popular realtor may not always lead to the ideal homes for house-hunters, but a good, trustworthy professional will ensure that the homes shown are a worthwhile investment for their client. A good realtor will ease the paperwork involved in the property purchase. They may also be able to help their clients secure the best design and furnishing vendors post-purchase.

One must pay close attention to the contract
There are many papers and dotted lines to sign whenever the purchase of a house is involved. The paperwork that house-buying entails can often discourage people from paying attention to minor details, which may prove to be an expensive mistake later on. Note that contracts inherently mean negotiations, and home-buying contracts are no different.
While the contracts, in many cases, may look like standard ones that come with no room for negotiation, buyers are not obligated to sign them without asking for specific amendments first. For example, buyers can ask for changes to be made to housing contracts regarding the time needed for a pre-purchase home inspection, waiving off radon tests, or mortgage-related conditions. Savvy realtors are expert negotiators and can help people at every step of contract-making and amendments. Having a legal aide on one’s side is also advisable to further smoothen the process.

Checking one’s credit score is vital
Although no set credit score is needed to purchase homes, the figure depends on lenders and mortgage programs. Usually, conventional mortgage loans come with stricter creditworthiness requirements. On the other hand, government-backed mortgage loans come with much more lenient and flexible repayment rules and credit requirements. Considering all of these, one has to choose the loan or financing option that suits their credit score and overall credit credibility. Not researching beforehand about this can lead to people not getting loans approved and cause delays in the home-buying process.

The roof of the house must not be ignored
Moving on from financing and contractual elements to the actual house, checking specific things is essential during the pre-purchase inspection of a given house. Roofs are the most vital thing to check during the initial inspection. One must ask oneself some questions throughout the process, such as: how old is the roof of this house? Does the previous homeowner have a roof certification letter? Are there any signs of damage? Can a basic roof inspection sort things out?
One can also call a knowledgeable family member or friend or engage a professional to check the roof’s condition before completing the sale.

One must check the HVAC performance
Checking the home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning elements is crucial during inspection. Just as is the case with roof checking, prospective buyers need to ask themselves some basic questions about the HVAC system of a given house. Some such questions include: are there enough windows and air ducts in the house for good cross ventilation? Does the house take too long to warm up or cool down once the temperature settings are changed using the thermostat? Has the previous owner performed a quality check to evaluate the performance levels of a given house?

Mortgage pre-qualification and mortgage pre-approval aren’t the same thing
Pre-qualification and pre-approval for a mortgage are essential steps that most buyers undertake while making offers on a house for sale. Despite the terms’ similarities in the premise, they are not quite the same. Pre-qualification for a mortgage indicates how much a home buyer can borrow. Being pre-qualified gives people an estimate of how much they can borrow based on their employment status, credit and bank account details, and overall income streams.
Once that is set, pre-approval comes only after the lender has carefully reviewed all pieces of information that the mortgage seeker has provided. There may be a disparity between pre-qualification and pre-approval. On some occasions, even pre-qualified people may not get approval from their lender due to some reason.

The total costs of mortgage loans
A mortgage loan comes with a host of fees and expenses. This means that someone who aims to buy a house must have the necessary funds to pay the mortgage application fees, appraisal fees, underwriting fees, mortgage point costs, and credit report fees.

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