I remember the first time I bought a home. I was excited and anxious all at the same time. A couple of homes later, I’ve learned how take a lot of the stress out of the process. If you’re buying your first home, maybe I can help save from you some of the stress. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up along the way. I hope they’ll help you enjoy a no muss, no fuss buying experience!
1. First, meet with a mortgage consultant to pre-qualify for a loan. The best time to find out how much of a house you can afford is before you even look.
2. Decide what neighborhood you want to live in. Me, I don’t want to live too far from shopping and restaurants. Also, I find out about the school district and how long of a commute it would be to get to work.
3. What kinds of community amenities do you want? With our family’s love of all things outdoors, we really like living someplace with walking trails, a community pool, and a basketball court for my son and his friends.
4. Notice what kinds of floor plans you and your family like. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you want? Is the kitchen big enough? Is the floor plan open and airy?
5. Once you have a better idea of where you want to live, make sure you understand all of your mortgage options. Go in to meet with your loan consultant with a list of questions, like what the different options are. Also, how much the whole mortgage process will cost you, what you have to do to qualify and how long it will take to close.
6. Gather all the info you’ll need for the loan application. The financers will want to see documentation for your income, employment history and assets.
7. Prepare for the big move. Choose a moving company and set up your move. Make sure you’ve arranged for the utilities to be connected and turn in a change of address to the post office.
I find that if I don’t take care of the things on my checklist as early on as I can, I’ll end up dealing with them at the last minute and, believe me, nobody wants to be around me when I’m that stressed out!
If you’d like to see more great tips, check out Taylor Morrison’s online Homebuyer Guide at http://www.taylormorrison.com/homebuying101/Default.aspx
