Articles Worth Reading is a series that runs on Sundays with a list of helpful Real Estate related links from around the web. Personally, I take Sunday lounging very seriously. I love a leisurely read and enjoy it even more if I don’t have to spend hours researching the topic of the day. Every week we will focus on a different topic and will provide multiple links to read up at leisure and get answers to your questions.
This week the focus will be: How to prepare for home ownership. For hose of you out there considering making the leap, these articles will help you get in shape before applying for a loan and be prepared so you know what to expect of the process.
We’ve scoured the internet so you don’t have to. Below are the articles that made the cut.
Trulia: 7 Steps to be ready to buy a house in 2018
Real Estate News: What to expect from the housing market in 2018
CBS News: Buying a home, prepare for a battle *(this was written for buying in 2017, but still holds true. 2018 is gearing up to be a sellers market in our area)
Bankrate: 6 must Must-Do’s Before buying a home
Creditrepair.com: how to fix your credit before buying a home
The Lenders Network: How to buy a house with bad credit in 6 steps
The Motley Fool: How to buy a home with little or no money down
Top Agents require a pre-approval to work with them. Gone are the days when you saw a dozen homes only to find out that you didn’t qualify to purchase the homes you were looking at. Today, getting your pre-approval is the first step and it happens before you meet Realtors. Its good to know where you stand financially, which means knowing your credit score and to start taking steps to boost your score if possible. This could be as simple as calling your existing credit cards and asking for a line of credit increase. We touched upon this very topic in our last Financial Fitness post (linked above). Next, take a hard look at your debt to income ratio and lastly give yourself time to save for your closing! The means your down payment, closing costs and incidentals (which we will cover next in our post ” Expenses to expect during the home buying process”).
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Thanks for stopping by, we hope you found this article helpful. If there is something you would like us to cover, just leave a comment and we will get to work on it!