First-Time Buyers | How Much Can You Afford?

Now that you've made the decision to buy your first home, the process of buying a home can be confusing, and complicated. Where should you start?

Find out how much you can afford. To get started with the process, consider getting pre-approved with a lender prior to making an appointment to view homes with a Realtor®. This will give you more leverage when you are ready to make an offer once you've found the house you'd like to call home.

In my blog Common Mistakes Smart People Make When Buying Their First Home , I explain how important it is to decide which lender you would like to work with. Multiple credit inquiries may affect your credit rating and have a negative impact on loan amount, interest rate, etc. Avoid giving your Social Security Number out to several different mortgage companies while shopping for rates.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers these free links to calculators that can assist you, but remember, it will be best to visit with your lender to find out for sure.

How much home can you afford?
Buying Vs. Renting

To gain a better understanding of the home buying process, contact me or log-on to my First-Time Home Buyer website http://www.newberghome.com/ for information that will explain the home buying process in simple terms, and show you how I can help make the process of buying your first home a much smoother one.


It's a great day to buy!
Teresa Kolb

http://www.newberghome.com/

e: TeresaKolb@NewbergHome.com

t: www.twitter.com/MyTurn2Own

f: www.facebook.com/TeresaKolb

First-Time Home Buyers | 8 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score

Credit scores, along with your overall income and debt, are a big factor in determining if you'll qualify for a loan and what the loan terms will be.

1. Check your credit annually! Check for and correct errors in your credit report. Mistakes happen, and you don't want to be paying for someone else's poor financial management.

2. Make loan payments on time every month!

3. Reduce your debt! Pay down credit card bills. If possible, pay off the entire balance every month. CAUTION: Transferring credit card debt from one card to another could lower your score. Use credit cards wisely, and only apply for the credit you really need.

4. Don't charge your credit cards to the maximum limit! This will show lenders that you have spending control.

5. Wait 12 months after credit difficulties to apply for a mortgage. You're penalized less for problems after a year.

6. Do NOT purchase big-ticket items for your new home on credit cards until after your home is closed. In addition, don’t apply for a new car loan either! The amounts will add to your debt-income ratio.

7. Don't open new credit card accounts before applying for a mortgage. Even if you don’t have a balance, having too much available credit can lower your score.

8. Shop for mortgage rates all at once. Too many credit applications can lower your score, but multiple inquiries from the same type of lender are counted as one inquiry if submitted over a short period of time.

For more information go to Knowing and Understanding Your Credit/Fannie Mae Foundation



It's a great day to buy!

Teresa Kolb


http://www.newberghome.com/

e: TeresaKolb@NewbergHome.com

t: www.twitter.com/MyTurn2Own

f: www.facebook.com/TeresaKolb