Your Spring Home Buying Checklist
Purchasing a new home can be exciting for everyone involved. Working together to house hunt and find the perfect home takes a lot of hard work, but will pay off in the end with your new forever home. Before you start your home buying process, make sure you check these items off your checklist.
Get Pre-Approved
Getting pre-approved can be beneficial for a few different reasons and only takes minutes. When getting pre-approved, lenders will review your income, all of your monthly expenses, and your credit report. If the lender likes what they see, they’ll conditionally agree to lend you a certain amount of money for you to use towards your mortgage. Five things you’ll need for pre-approval are proof of income, proof of assets, good credit, employment verification, and documentation.
Get a Credit Check
Before purchasing a home, make sure you check your credit and know where it’s at. The better your credit score and history is, the better chances you have of getting a good interest rate on your mortgage loan. Review your credit reports, and if you notice any errors, take the necessary steps to correct them. You can learn more about what goes into your credit score and how you can improve it here.
Determine What You Can Afford
Before you even set a budget and start looking for your new home, you need to determine what you can afford. Look at key factors that will play into this, such as your income, credit score, how much debt you have, and what type of closing costs you’re looking at. Consider how much you pay in monthly expenses now, and how much purchasing a new home would play into that. You can also plan to put down a large down payment so that you have more wiggle room when it comes to your mortgage.
In this competitive market, coming prepared when buying a home can get you ahead of the game. If you need more advice on how to prepare to buy your first home, Pacor Mortgage has the years of experience you’re looking for. Give us a call today at 773-881-7744, or visit our website to send us a message.
