Being in a position to buy a new home is a dream come true for most. The anticipation of sealing the deal for a coveted home can be nail-biting, so making sure that one pace themselves is vital to the home buying experience.
To avoid the pitfalls that can come with buying a home for the first time, a buyer must be prepared with the right mindset of informing oneself. Remember, only buy a home when the timing is right for you, and as a mortgage broker we want to do right by what the customer wants.
This includes understanding the prevailing market factors at the time that can work in one's favor and avoiding those that don't.
As a first time buyer, it's highly recommended that one has some fundamental knowledge of what it entails to buy a new home. That’s precisely why it is a best practice to research online and verify the accuracy of your research with a mortgage broker or lender so that you can be confident you reached be best possible outcome when you go through the home buying process.
Here at Mares Mortgage, the Loan Brothers team works hard to provide a wide range of financial options as well as on demand content that can help boost your confidence without any obligation of contracts at all. Get results and go through the real process as smooth as possible. Use our guide below to help you avoid mistakes that many first time buyers make.
Reasons why you should hire a Mortgage broker/lender
We are nimble! For a potential homeowner, over and above the home buying research that one does on their own, the services a mortgage broker offers helps the home-buying experience go as smooth as possible by being nimble enough to guarantee closings in less than 30 days, and as little as 15-21 days (under many circumstances this is possible). One of the advantages of going through with a broker is that one stands a better chance of landing an incredible property for a great price and receive incentives from the brokerage by avoiding large corporations that serve shareholders and super bowl adds! Given that a broker is experienced in the business and they have their ear on the ground, they often have tons of great advice as well as a higher degree of accuracy when assessing the current real estate market and timing. In short, they are well-positioned to help the buyer land a good deal while making the process of shopping and buying a home a pleasant experience. It's understandable why some home buyers would like to go at it alone without engaging the services of a mortgage broker. More often than not, it's a budget issue where the buyer can't afford a broker's services. It's highly recommended to create an allocation for a broker, when house hunting because their expertise is invaluable. Apart from getting assistance from a mortgage broker, here are some common mistakes to avoid when buying a home for the first time. Related: First Time Home Buying Tips and Tricks
1. Buying a house can be stressful
The process of purchasing a home can easily stress one out. Mortgage brokers understand that their client might have a busy schedule and are often juggling between work, personal life, and buying a new home. Many will be willing to work around a home buyer's schedule, such as meeting up after work, during lunch break, the weekend, and a lot of times they will even come to the prospective buyer if that is more convenient. Another commonly made mistake first time home buyers make is, doing a lot of unnecessary leg work to set up one on one appointments with lenders. Here’s a quick tip: Most mortgage firms are more than willing to engage a buyer through phone, email, live chat, or other digital communication. Should one feel like their questions towards securing a home are being answered to their satisfaction, then they can go ahead and make an appointment. If one does not have time to go to their offices these guys will be more than happy to make an appointment for a time and place that’s most convenient for a buyer. If one prefers to go to their office, then that too would work. Since there are so many brokers in town, engaging a firm in any of these ways will help you arrive at a decision long before you make an appointment for a physical meet. Related: Signs You're Ready to Buy Your First House2. You won’t be alone when buying a home
While at the end of the day, a home buying decision lies squarely with the individual, going at it alone can be cumbersome unless, of course, one has plenty of time and expertise. Following up with the legal aspects of the transaction, as well as the general paperwork, can be a tedious process and will likely leave a novice buyer exhausted. Mortgage brokers are there to facilitate the process and make the dream of owning a home a reality. Here are a few things one can expect by enlisting the services of a mortgage broker.- They’ll do the run around of finding the most suitable loan for your needs
- One can be assured of their support through the entire application as well as the settlement process
- They will handle all the paperwork related to the transaction
- They will follow-up with paperwork and keep you apprised on that status at every stage of the home buying process. That allows more time to concentrate on work and looking for the best home to buy without feeling overwhelmed by the process.
- In short, mortgage brokers will do all the legal work and help a homebuyer make heads and tails of all the legal jargon that goes with that.
3. Mortgage lenders help you avoid taking the wrong loan
One can end up with a mortgage loan option that’s not the best option for their needs. That can easily happen if a home buyer lacks objective counsel to guide them through the loan options that they have based on their needs or circumstances. An experienced mortgage broker is valuable in matching and advising a home buyer on loan options based on a home buyer's current financial status. In fact, if a mortgage broker does not go into detail about the financial as well as personal information such as credit reports of their client, they aren't suited for a first-time homebuyer. Any advice on what home loan to choose should meet your economic needs. Home owners mortgages are as follows:- Fixed-rate loan
- Adjustable-rate mortgage
- Conventional loan
- Jumbo loan
- Government Insured mortgage
4. You won’t be missing out on valuable information
Homebuyers who attempt to make a move without acquiring the help of an experienced broker, soon realize that the home buying process is not as straightforward as most would like to think. In many ways, it's like walking through a maze, and one can get thoroughly lost and disappointed if there is no one to guide the buyer in the home buying process. Take an attempt to secure home funding, for instance. Few prospective home buyers know that every time one tries to pre-qualify for a home loan and is turned down for whatever reason, it’s reflected on one's credit card history. It’s also very likely that one may be making an application to mortgage lenders who are likely to turn them down because they don’t meet their requirements. There’s a good chance that with the same application to different lenders, one might pre-qualify for a home loan. Mortgage brokers can be of help and play a pivotal role in helping a buyer avoid unnecessary glitches in their quest to secure funding for buying a home. Brokers use specialized software that allows prospective buyers to know what range of lenders they are more qualified for before making an application. Such software can help one see their true borrowing potential with various lenders long before making a loan application. Such an approach helps to drastically reduce the chances that a home loan application will get rejected. A mortgage broker will also answer questions in regards to the pros and cons of having first time home buyers insurance which can prove valuable to a home buyer's situation. Related: How to Get a Home Improvement Loan
5. House over neighborhood
Your potential new house may be great and tick all the boxes one has for a home but what about the neighborhood it’s located in? Safety, public transportation, schools, and other amenities must inform the final decision of the buyer. When the neighborhood is not conducive to investment, the house depreciates in value. Since this is a lifetime investment no one wants to bind themselves to a horrible environment for life A broker will offer crucial information like the zoning of the neighborhood, close schools, rate of crime and proximity to hospitals. This is information that drives up or down the cost of a house and their advice will prove invaluable.
