Things they don’t tell you about buying your first home

Buying your first home is typically a new, scary, and exciting experience. You have no idea what to expect and unfortunately, the home buying process is not very well-known, even by those that have purchased before. Many people think that you just get approved for a loan, find a home you love and close 30 days later, but there is actually a lot that goes on during that process: it is much more intensive than you think it is. Let’s talk about things they don’t tell you about buying your first home. Here are a few big things they don’t tell you:

You Will Be Approved For More Than You Thought You Would Be

When you start the home buying process, the first step is to get your finances in order, which is pretty obvious. You should ideally pay off any large debt that you have (student loans are typically okay) and you should make sure that you have a good chunk in savings, for closing costs and down payment.

Once you have everything in line, you will need to get a pre-approval from a loan officer. Once you turn in all of your paperwork, you will typically get a pre-approval back relatively quickly and if you are a first-time homebuyer, you will most likely think that you are *officially* approved for this loan, but you are not. This is just an idea of how much you will be approved for and it is usually very accurate, as long as your credit and debt do not drastically change.  Contact sandwich ma real estate for more information.

You will most likely be approved for a lot more than you thought you would be and you will want to go crazy and buy your ‘perfect’ home, one that you did not think you could originally afford, but if you have a good loan officer, they will advise you not to buy a home at your highest price point because if you do, you have the potential to become ‘house broke.’ All in all, make sure you find a good loan officer and trust them, as well as your real estate agent to guide you along the process.

You, Will, Get Stressed

There will be a point where you will make an offer on your perfect house and it will get turned down. You will think that you’ll never find a home that will fit you more than the one that you just made an offer on, but you are wrong. Everything happens for a reason and houses are constantly selling – do not get stressed! I can promise you that if you give it time, you will find the right home for you and you will be happier than ever with it. Make sure you are getting enough rest, drinking enough water and eating healthy foods, and taking care of yourself in general, in order to reduce any added stress that the home buying process might add to your life.

No Big Purchases

After you find a home, your loan will need to be finalized and once it is, you are still not out of the woods. A lot of new home buyers think that when their loan is finalized, they are now able to buy big purchases such as TV’s, kitchen appliances, and furniture for their (almost) new home, but please hold back and do not take away from your savings, or add to your debt. It happens frequently where the home buyer does not know this and if they make a big purchase, they will get turned down at the closing table, or a few days before the closing. Please do not make this mistake!

If you absolutely need to purchase something, find another way. For example, in the Atlanta area, there is a company called Chapes-JPL that provides affordable asset loans on jewelry, gold, diamonds, watches, and other valuable assets, at a low rate and at fair value. The reason that this is a great option is that Chapes-JPL does not require credit checks, tax returns, or job verification. This means that your loan is strictly on collateral, which will not affect the closing of your home. Chapes-JPL’s goal is to make the loaning process straightforward, comprehensible, and gimmick-free. Since 1980, they have been providing the Atlanta area with low-interest loans in a safe and discrete office building, and they always welcome the chance to do business with new clients to prove our commitment to service, confidentiality, and integrity.

You Have To Pay For An Inspection + Appraisal

Another thing that most do not know is that in addition to the initial costs that your loan officer lays out, you also have to pay for an inspection and an appraisal. While this is not extremely expensive, it is still a $2,000+ cost that you will have to come up with before closing. Make sure that you account for this.

Things Will Go Wrong

Things will go wrong during the closing process and during the time that you own the house, but you will be okay. The sooner you accept this, the sooner that you will be able to move on and figure out the next step to make things okay again. This is just a normal part of homeownership that everyone has to deal with.