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Here's some important advice: as soon as you have made the decision that you want to buy a house, one of your first steps should be to make certain that you have a clear picture of your financial situation. At a minimum, you will most likely want to do the following:
Run a Credit Report to make certain that there are no discrepancies or problems in your credit history
Do an analysis of your current financial situation: where the money comes from (your total income) and where the money is presently going (your current spending). Develop a household budget for your current situation. Get into the habit of using it on a consistent basis!
Begin to gather items such as: last 3 years Income Tax returns, current copies of pay stubs, records of any past derogatory credit history that has since been paid off, and records of any supplemental income you may have. If you are self employed, you will need all business records and tax returns for the last 3 years. Having these items close at hand will save an enormous amount of time when the Mortgage Company begins to ask for them (and ask for them they will!)
Do not incur any new debt. Many mortgage applications have been stopped in their tracks because the applicants had decided a week before the application that a shiny new car with a big finance or lease payment would look just perfect in the driveway of their new home. Since mortgages are based on debt to income ratios (the amount you pay out monthly versus the amount you bring in) a newly acquired debt could be enough to throw the ratios off and make the mortgage unobtainable. |
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Buying a House
After living here for a while, you may want to consider buying a house. It is a good investment in the long run, since instead of paying a landlord, you are building up equity in your own property of your housing choices.For more information visit the family resource center at www.ourfamilyplace.com |
| Once the decision to buy a home has been made, take the time to prepare before you go on your home search. For example, much of the information on this Web Site should be very familiar to you before you go looking for homes. Yes, it is very tempting to rush out and actually look at houses, but to do so without full preparation can be both disastrous and expensive. |
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ADVICE & TIPS
If you review the checklist you will find that "house hunting" is about halfway down the list. |
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Get your financial house in order first! We can't stress |
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this enough--it will save you an enormous amount of time, aggravation and heartache. |
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If this is going to be your first home , see the section |
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that is devoted to that topic |
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Determine what your budget will comfortably allow and |
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stick to it. Don't spend yourself into a "house poor" situation. |
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Get preapproved for a mortgage . This will not only |
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give you a clear idea of how much a lender will approve for you, it will make your homebuying process a great deal easier (and save a lot of time later). |
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Get familiar with the different housing types available |
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to narrow your search. |
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Determine your minimum requirements as well as any |
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desired additional features--your needs and wants. |
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Take note of any items that you don't want in a |
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house. This can be just as important as knowing what it is you want in a home. |
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Determine the desired location (schools, work, public |
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transportation, etc.) . |
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Familiarize yourself with the mortgage process. |
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Choose an Agent that you feel comfortable with and |
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who understands your needs. Be completely aware of the Agency issue. If you look for houses before you have your own Agent, you may not have the representation you want. If you are looking to find an Agent in the area in which you are interested, click here to compare Agents . (You can compare backgrounds, experience and more.) |
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If you don't already have an Agent screening homes |
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for you, you can check listings and prices throughout the U.S. on our interactive map . |
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Use all resources available in looking for homes: |
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Friends, relatives, a good Real Estate Agent, advertisements. You may want to consider a source such as Bargain.com , which maintains a database of foreclosures, HUDs, VAs, and For Sale By Owner (FSBO) properties. They offer a free trial membership. Click here for more information . If you are considering purchasing a foreclosure, check out Foreclosure.com (they offer a free trial period) as well as our article on the subject of buying fixer-uppers . In addition, HomeGain.com can point you in the direction of thousands of homes located in every state in the United States . |
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Don't just buy a home for your present needs. Make |
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sure to take into account future considerations . |
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As you are looking, use a scorecard to compare |
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homes. A scorecard is a great tool when it comes time for comparisons (and for remembering which home had which features!) |
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Get familiar with the inspection process--especially the |
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personal inspection aspect, so that you can weed out unacceptable houses quickly |
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Maintain your perspective--and your cool! You may |
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find an acceptable house on the first day--or the tenth. The important thing is to get the home that is best for you! |
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U.S. Department of Housing
Visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website at http://www.hud.gov or call 1-800-569-4287 for information in English and Spanish. |
| For information about buying a home and getting a mortgage, visit the Federal Citizen Information Center at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov. See also the “For Homeowners and Home Buyers” section of http://www.fanniemae.com |
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| You will probably need a special type of loan called a mortgage to buy a house. A bank or other lending institution such as a mortgage company will check your credit history before deciding whether to offer you a loan, and the amount of the loan. This loan is paid back to the bank on a monthly basis over many years, such as twenty or thirty years. |
The credit check may include verifying employment, your monthly income, and how long you have been employed by calling your employer. The bank will also look at the comp (comparative) value for similar homes in the area that you are buying in, to make sure that the loan is a good investment for them as well. Housing prices can vary greatly from city to city, in different states, and between different neighborhoods. Some loan programs such as Fannie Mae and HUD have strict guidelines as to the condition that the house must be in before the homeowner can purchase it, and most loan companies require certain inspections such as termite inspections and roof repairs if needed before approving a home loan.For more information visit the www. morgageloan.com
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| Beware of lenders charging very high interest rates on mortgages. Some lenders may try to charge you more because you are new to this country. There are laws to protect you from fraud, unnecessary expenses, and discrimination in buying a home. Find out more by visiting the “Homes” section at http://www.hud.gov. |
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Some banks have programs set up especially to help new immigrants with buying a house. They are willing to work with legal immigrants who are not yet US citizens, and who have not yet built up a credit history in our country.Find out which banks are willing to give loans to the immigrants in your city,and where |
| others have gotten their home or car loans. Some of these loans have been underwritten by local banks with the help of the Fannie Mae Foundation that has a national New American's Initiative to help homebuyers new to our country with housing loans. They also provide classes for new homebuyers on how to buy a home. The New American's Initiative has home buying guides in nine languages to help with overcoming the language barrier. Fannie Mae has also identified some of the larger banks in our country that are trying new innovations in helping immigrants with buying a home. You may also want to contact a local community-based organization or minority council for help with finding institutions that will help with home loans. In some larger cities, these groups hold classes on finances and home ownership. . |
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Real Estate Agents
Most homebuyers in the United States go through a Real Estate company , which employs agents and brokers to assist in finding and buying a house. Some of the largest reputable ones |
| include Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, which are located in most cities. Many areas also have local real estate agencies which are smaller, but can be excellent. One way of finding an agent is to ask friends or family who has bought a home who helped them, and listen to their recommendations. Local community organizations may also have information, including whether there are bilingual agents who can help you if language is a concern.
Real estate agents have access to large data banks such as the MLS list, which lets them know which houses are on the market, for what price, and important information about the house such as its size, number of rooms, the lot size, and more. You can also look yourself by going through company catalogs or books set up with houses pictured and listed.
Your real estate agent will want to know the price range of the home you are looking for, the number of rooms, lot size, and other information. The more you have planned and written down ahead of time, the easier the hunting process will be. Once you find a house that you are interested in, they can also guide you through the process of making an offer for the home, listening to the seller's counteroffer, and negotiating the home price. They can also help with the paper work that is involved, and will often help you find a title company, which will check that the title on your proposed purchase is clear (that there are no liens or other problems).
Most states have disclosure laws that make it illegal for the seller to lie or try to cover up defects in the home, such as the age and condition of the roof, or other structural problems. Be sure to ask plenty of questions about the house, and note the answers, since this can help protect you. You may want to go to your local library, and research home buying. There are excellent books on this topic that can give helpful hints on what to look for in a home, and the types of questions to ask.
Some states set up escrow accounts as a sign of good faith when you find the house that you want. This means putting down part of the purchase price into a special account that will go towards the purchase of the home after the closing (when the papers are signed and you actually purchase the home). Other states wait until the closing before the transfer of funds occurs. For more information visit the www.homegain.com or www.realtor.com
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