For most people, their first home is the most expensive thing they’ve bought up to that point in their life. It can be an intimidating process. Finding the most up to the date mortgage rates, picking the right neighborhood, choosing a lender; these are all hard decisions, and not everybody has somebody to guide them along that’s already gone through the process. If you’re looking to buy a house but have no clue where to get started, here are some basic facts.
Less Than 10% of Homes Are Priced Under $100,000
Unfortunately for most Americans, houses are incredibly expensive. Only 8% of houses sold are priced under the $100,000 mark. 38% of houses sold are priced between $100,000 and $250,000, and that’s likely the mark you’ll want to aim for, depending on your individual situation. It’s important to know what you’ll be getting into before diving into the housing market.
Taking Out a Mortgage
When you buy a home, you aren’t forced to put up all of the money up front. You borrow the money for the house from a mortgage lender, and then you pay it back like any other loan, with the lien being your house. That means if you fail to make your mortgage payments, they have recourse to take your home away. That’s called a foreclosure.
When looking through mortgage companies, you’ll want to stay aware of up to date mortgage rates. The market is constantly fluctuating, and you want to make sure you get the best deal possible. Staying informed of the up to date mortgage rates will let you go into a meeting knowing what rates you deserve from mortgage lenders. You can find current mortgage rates in your area by doing a bit of online research.
This will allow you to figure out your monthly payments and down payment on different priced houses, so you can narrow down your exact budget. From there, you’ll look around in the housing market you’re looking to purchase in until you find something that fits your needs! It’s up to you how picky you want to be. Some people are looking for something they can buy cheap and fix up, while others just want to move in and get on with their life. The choice is yours!
The Next Steps
From there, you’ll need to keep in mind those up to date mortgage rates and consult with your lender. If you are using a real estate agent, the process is entirely streamlined for you, but they do take a fee. Once you’ve signed your mortgage agreement, the house is yours!
So these are the very basic steps of buying a home, for those going in blind. Any aspect of the process is worthy of research on its own, but hopefully this short primer was enough to get you informed. Have any questions? Thoughts? Share and join in the comments below!
