01 Begin Your Research
Start looking online, reading newspapers, or magazines that have real estate listings. Make a note of homes you like and how long they stay on the market. Take notice of any changes in asking price. This will give you a sense of the housing trends in specific areas.
02 Decide How Much and What You Can Afford
Start looking online, reading newspapers, or magazines that have real estate listings. Make a note of homes you like and how long they stay on the market. Take notice of any changes in asking price. This will give you a sense of the housing trends in specific areas.
03 Get Approved for Credit and Your Mortgage
Before you start looking for a home, you will need to know how much you can actually spend. The best way to do that is to get prequalified for a mortgage. To get prequalified, you just need to provide some financial information to your mortgage banker, such as income and the amount of savings and investments you have. Your lender will review this information and tell you how much we can lend you. This will tell you the price range of the homes you should be looking at.
05 Shop for Your Home and Lock it Down
start touring homes in your price range. You will see a lot of houses! It can be hard to remember everything about them, so you might want to take pictures or video to help you remember each home. Make sure to check out the little details of each house. For example:
Plumbing
Test the plumbing by running the shower to see how strong the water pressure is and how long it takes to get hot water.
Electrical
Try the electrical system by turning switches on and off.
Entrances
Open and close the windows and doors to see if they work properly.
Location
Is it conveniently located near places of interest to you: schools, shopping centers, restaurants, parks, and public transportation?
Neighborhood
Are the other homes on the block well maintained? How much traffic does the street get? Is there enough street parking for you and your family?
