Being a first time home buyer can be a thrilling and nerve-wracking experience. As a real estate consultant, Troy Can Sickle knows that the learning curve for first-time home buyers can be steep. Most of these issues can be fixed by doing a little homework before starting the home buying process. Here are five steps to help the process go smoother.
1.One of the most important factors when it comes to qualifying for a home loan is your credit score. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows everyone to get their credit report from the three credit bureaus for free once a year. Check these reports for mistakes, unpaid accounts, and collection accounts.
2.Keep track of your spending for a couple of months. This will help you understand what kind of income you are bringing in every month and what you are spending. When purchasing a home, it is important to know what you're spending every month compared to what you are making.
3.Get your documents organized. Gather pay stubs, your previous two years of W-2s, tax returns, and the past two months of bank statements.
4.Before you even contact a mortgage lender, find out how much you qualify for. There are a number of mortgage calculators available online to help you with this.
5.It takes an effort to get a down payment scraped together, so start saving as early as you can. There are programs that can assist certain buyers that meet qualifying incomes.
Buying your first home is not only exciting, but it can be nerve-wracking as well. By following these steps, Troy Van Sickle is confident that first-time home buyers will be able to realize their dreams of owning a home.
