Buyers
Whether or not you are a first-time homebuyer, purchasing a home can be a very excited yet intimidating experience. It is often the biggest purchase and biggest step a person will make in their lifetime.
At BMarie Realty, we are here to guide you through this next step hopefully making buying a home an easy and enjoyable process. We have created this page as a resource, to help answer questions you might have and to get you thinking about what you might need to do to start the buying process. Contact us when you are ready to start your buying process.
6 Questions to Consider Before You Buy
How’s your financial health?
You should be looking at your savings because a down payment is a considerable amount of money and there will be other expenses during the buying process like closing costs and upfront costs. You should also have an emergency fund (lenders will require it). You should also review your spending habits, doing this can help you to see how much money you can allocate to a mortgage payment. Checking your credit is really important because to qualify for a home loan you’ll need good credit.
Single Family Homes Vs. Condos
While single-family homes and condominiums are both residential real estate there are differences between the two. Condominiums are often referred to as “common interest development.” When purchasing a condominium (or condo for short) you own a predetermined area of space, but not the land. Owners of condos share ownership of all the common areas like hallways, stairs, elevators, etc. On the other hand, a single-family house owner owns both the house, the land it sits on, any structures permanently attached to that land, and the air above it (in other words they own the air rights). The owner is responsible for the entire property. In both cases, owners have the title of ownership and tax responsibilities and may rent and sell the property they own. There are many things that you must factor in when deciding between the purchase of a condo or a single-family home.
The 6 steps of the home buying process
Step 1: Getting Pre-Approved Prior to Shopping for a Home; in the pre-approval process you figure out home much home you can afford, so you can then figure out what type of down payment to budget for. You can also determine your monthly mortgage payment and what type of loan program you might use to finance the new property.
Step 2: Finding Where You Want to Live Through Exploration; explore the many communities, and the neighborhoods that are in them. Think about what your ideal neighborhood looks like then use our communities tab to find what neighborhood has what you want. If you don’t want to explore yourself, go to our contact tab and put in what you are looking for and we will find it for you!
First Time Homebuyers
Who is considered a first-time homebuyer?
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a first-time homebuyer meets the following conditions:
An individual who has not owned a principal residence (or primary residence) for three years.
If you are married however it is a bit different if one spouse already owned a home but the other spouse did not, then they could purchase a home together as first-time homebuyers.
Housing Made Simple
Work With Us
If you have more questions or you just want to start your buying process today contact us, we will make your buying experience as smooth and easy as possible.
