Tips for First-time Home Buyers

You’ve finally decided to make one of the biggest decisions of your life: buy your first home. Then, a million of questions go flying right at you. What’s the first step? You probably have no idea how the overall purchasing process works. And you’ll probably be very surprised to learn how much work it really is just to buy a home. To get you started in the right direction, and this is just a start, here are a few tips that you should consider.

Get lender-qualified and find a good real estate agent

First things first, you have to get qualified by a lender. Once you’re qualified, your price range estimate at hand, you’ll be able to spend your time shopping in neighborhoods that you can afford. NOTE: Just because the bank says you can qualify for a certain amount, that doesn’t mean you should spend that amount. Make sure you can actually afford the monthly payment, along with all your other bills.

Make sure you plan to be a long-term owner

Once you know your price range and have looked at some properties, it’s time to make sure that you believe you can find a property that you will own for a minimum of five years. If your price range doesn’t match where you want to live, you’d be better off staying a renter and saving some additional money until you can afford where you want to live. This is because an owner really doesn’t earn any equity, on average, in a property for at least five years. 

Educate yourself

Buying property is probably the most complex, riskiest and expensive thing you will ever do. Do your homework: Talk to real estate owners, go to first-time buyer seminars, check out online material and read some books to learn what to avoid in the buying process. The more you educate yourself, the better the chances that when things go wrong -- and they will go wrong -- they will only be minor issues, not major headaches.

Find a nice affordable property

The real gems in real estate are the nice, decent shape, moderately priced, boring houses, town homes and condominiums that are within your budget. Most buyers stretch to purchase the most expensive property they can afford. What if you lose your job? How about saving some of your money for retirement? You want your home to be an asset you can afford, not a liability that leaves you with no additional funds over the cost of homeownership. Also, skip the fixers, prize properties or anything that sounds too good to be true: Those always end up having issues, and owners realize, after the fact, that the deal they thought they were getting really was just too good to be true!

Take your time

Realistically it should take you six months or longer to buy a nice quality property that will add to your long-term wealth. Make sure you have a full understanding of what the marketplace has to offer in your price range and that you know what you’re doing.

Source: foxnews.com

Do you want to work with a Realtor who never fails to provide his clients about pertinent Real Estate information, market trends, tips and what-to-dos?  Call me, Mynor Herrera, today for expert help buying or selling in the DC, MD, & VA areas! I also specialize in Bethesda and Chevy Chase, as well as the subdivisions of Rosemary Hills, Rock Creek Forest, East Bethesda and Whitehall Condominium.