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Buying your first home is an exciting but, anxiety-provoking—event. While having a place of your own is a dream most of us share, it’s also probably the biggest purchase you’ll ever make, and you want to be careful to avoid mistakes. Majestic Home Mortgage's First-Time HomeBuyers' Guide is designed to help you understand how to find the home you want and prevent costly errors and hassles. Please take a minute to look at these helpful tips, and you’ll have the confidence you need to become a first-time homeowner!
Common Mistakes to Avoid Assuming that you must make at least a 20% cash down payment to buy a home. With Majestic’s Conventional and FHA loans, you need as little as 5% down and some VA loans can be obtained with 0% down. Looking at homes before you are pre-approved. When you are pre-approved, you have more buying power with your seller; in addition, you know for exactly how much you've been approved. Underestimating the amount of cash you will need to close. Generally you will need 3% to 5% of the sales price for closing costs. Costs vary by area. Some loans will allow you to roll into your mortgage most of the closing costs. Failing to read the purchase and sales agreement before you sign it. This is a legal contract, so it’s always best for you to hire your own real estate attorney to review it. Do not sign anything unless you fully understand it. Ask questions. Failing to have a property fully inspected. If you neglect inspecting the property and something goes wrong after you close, you are responsible for the repairs. Whereas, if you have the property inspected before you sign the contract, you can make it a condition that the sellers make necessary repairs prior to closing. Identify What You Need and Want in a Home It's critical to write down your needs and wants in a home before you start looking. Your needs are the essentials—the things you absolutely must have in a home for it to be acceptable to you. Your wants are features you’d like to have in a home, but that aren’t deal-breakers for you Consider the following for your needs and wants list (feel free to add as many as you’d like):
How Much Home Can You Afford? Generally, what you can afford to buy is based on two primary factors:
Instead of guessing for how much you might qualify, take a few minutes to call the experts at Majestic Home Mortgage Corporation at 1-888-310-LOAN. They'll need some basic information about your salary, assets and debts, to quickly be able to pre-qualify you. With this information you’ll know for certain the price range of homes, for targeting your search. Click on Creative Financing Solutions to find out more about how to purchase your first home. The Smart Way to Home-Shop Get pre-approved to avoid disappointment, and to provide yourself with an advantage over other buyers. Sellers and real estate agents will be much more open to working with you if they know you have already taken care of financing arrangements. To get pre-approved for a loan, you’ll complete a loan application and usually pay a small fee. You may also be asked to provide recent tax returns, which you’ll typically have to turn over anyway to obtain a final loan. Keep in mind that pre-qualifying isn’t the same as being pre-approved. Pre-qualifying with a lender is based on a limited amount of information and can only give you a general range of what you may be able to qualify for. The details you’ll provide for a pre-approval give the lender the confidence to make a firm commitment about the size loan you’ll be approved for. With Advanced Approval, Majestic's pre-approval program, we’ll provide you a commitment, so that you can focus your home search on properties for which you qualify. Creative Financing Solutions Don’t be discouraged if you think that coming up with a down payment or closing costs is impossible. If you qualify, you may wish to take advantage of an FHA or VA loan. Government loans are more flexible then Conventional loans, require little to no down payment and are more relaxed about credit issues. Majestic Home Mortgage Corporation offers competitive FHA and VA loans. In addition, there are other programs available to assist first-time home buyers through federal, state and local governments, corporations and non-profit organizations. Preparing for a Smooth Application Process Preparation With careful preparation and organization, your loan process can go smoothly and hassle-free. At Majestic Home Mortgage Corp., our experienced Loan Officers will help you through every step. Information required will vary by loan program and your personal situation. When you call to apply, you’ll be told what documentation you’ll need to gather. Examples of the type of documentation that you may need to apply include:
Closing Costs Under federal law, you should receive an estimate of your closing costs prior to closing. (Keep in mind that this number could change slightly, because without knowing the exact date of closing, it’s impossible to come up with a precise figure). Closing costs usually fall within three to five percent of the purchase price of your new home, and vary by state. Final Steps
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Majestic Home Mortgage Corporation is pleased to provide the general information on this web site as a service to its customers. Majestic Home Mortgage Corporation is not engaged in providing legal or other professional advice. For advice on specific questions, please consult your attorney or other professional. | |||
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To contact Majestic Home Mortgage Corp.: 1-888-310-LOAN Questions? e-mail a Majestic Home Mortgage specialist HOME |
