Buying a home in today's market can require you to have your financing securely established with a pre-approval secured, and have the right amount of money saved up for a down payment. Also, make sure you are prepared to act quickly if homes in the area are selling quickly with bidding wars. Here are some tips that you can and should use to help you buy a home this year.

Hire a Realtor to Help You Buy

One of the first steps you can take in your home search is to hire a realtor to help you out through the entire process. Your realtor should be someone you trust and can work well with. So if you find a realtor who gets on your nerves or does not have the time to return your calls, look for another one to work with you. 

If you are considering buying a home without the help of your own realtor, make sure that you are prepared to look out for your own interests all by yourself. You can discuss and negotiate the home's purchase with the seller's agent, but keep in mind that they work for the seller. The seller's agent and the seller will already have established a working relationship and the realtor has a legal obligation to look out for their client as number one. So, where they may be able to provide you recommendations and insight, they truly work for the seller and may not have your interests as their number one priority.

Check Into Financing

In addition to working with a great realtor to help you sift through the properties available and find one that works for you, it is going to be necessary that you have your financing ready for the purchase. Because you need to have funds to back up any offer you make on a home, talk to a mortgage broker early on in the process, especially before you shop for a home with your realtor. 

When you have your financing arranged, you will also know how much the bank will be willing to lend to you based on your income and credit. Along with your down payment ability, you will have a good estimate of how much you can put toward your home purchase. For example, if you are pre-approved for a loan up to $400,000 and you have $20,000 saved as a down payment, you can look at homes that are priced up to $420,000. Keep in mind you will also need to cover any closing costs with the purchase. However, you may be able to negotiate a purchase price down slightly to give you a bit more spending room.

For more information, contact a local realtor such as Spencer Real Estate.

Share