Tips for first-time home buyers

Buying a first home is a process that needs full preparation and strategy. Although it is a dream come true, people eventually may get sick and tired of searching for the right one. Without an efficient plan, first-time home buyers may end up disappointed and hopeless. But, don’t worry, we have some useful tips for you.

Now that you have decided to move to NYC, let’s look at what you can expect from the process of buying your first home. This is a chaotic time with a lot of offers and counteroffers. But if you are ready for the chores, you can go through this process more or less safely and reliably. Here is the main progression you can expect:

1. Find a home

Before you hire East Village movers, you must first find a home. Be sure to use all available options to search for houses in the market. Including help from a real estate agent and finding ads on the Internet. Also travel around the area that interests you, looking for the sell signs. In the end, check with your friends, family and business contacts.

If you seriously want to buy a house, do not enter an open house without an agent. You can see how this might not work to your advantage if you start talking to the seller’s agent before contacting your own.

If you have a limited budget, look for homes whose potential is still not recognized. Even if you cannot afford to replace the disgusting wallpaper in the bathroom, it might be worth spending some time there in exchange for access to a house that you can afford. If the home meets your needs in terms of large things that are difficult to change, such as location and size, don’t let the details distract you. The most important thing for people who are buying their first home is to choose the right NYC neighborhood.

2. Consider your financing options if you are first-time home buyers

Those who buy their first home have a wide range of options to help them get into the house. Both are available to any buyer, including Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages and mortgages specifically designed for first-time home buyers. Many homebuyer programs for the first time offer minimum down payments from 3% to 5%. And some do not require prepayment.

When buying your first home, you should:

• Use the list of HUD resources. FHA and its loan program is part of the HUD.
• Do not associate loyalty with your current financial institution when obtaining prior approval or when obtaining a mortgage. Take a look, even if you are entitled to only one type of loan. Rates may vary unexpectedly, as well as mortgage interest rates. Which, of course, has a significant impact on the total price you pay for your home.
• Some authorities also recommend that first-time home buyers should have a backup lender. The right to a loan does not guarantee that your loan will ultimately be funded. Changes may occur in the underwriting guidelines, changes in the risk analysis of lenders and investor markets. There may be times when customers sign credit and conditional documents. And then, 24-48 hours before the close, they receive a notification that the lender has suspended funding under his loan program. Having a second lender who has already qualified you for a mortgage gives you an alternative way to save the process or get closer to the schedule.

3. Make an offer

Your real estate agent will help you decide how much money you want to offer for your home, as well as any conditions that you want to ask for. Your agent will then send the offer to the seller’s agent. The seller will accept your offer or issue a counteroffer.

Before submitting your proposal, look at your budget again. This time, take into account the estimated closing costs, the cost of the move and moving supplies NYC, and any immediate repairs and required devices that you may need before you can continue. Be careful: it’s easy to be ambushed because of higher or unexpected utility costs in your new big house. You can request electricity bills for the last 12 months to get an idea of the average monthly cost.

If you reach an agreement, you will make a deposit and the process will proceed to escrow. Escrow is a short period of time (often about 30 days), when the seller removes the house from the market with the contractual expectation that you will buy a house. Provided that you do not find any serious problems with it when checking it.

4. Have a home inspection as first-time home buyers

Do this even if the house you plan to purchase seems to be perfect. Nothing can replace a qualified professional who will inspect the property for the quality, safety and general condition of your potential new home. You do not want to lose your money or have a headache from performing many unexpected repairs. When during examining the house, serious flaws are revealed that the seller did not disclose, as a rule, you can cancel your offer and return your deposit. Negotiations for the seller to restore or discount the sale price are other options.

5. Close or move on

If you can negotiate with the seller or, even better, if the audit did not reveal any significant problems, you should be prepared to close the deal. Closing basically means signing a ton of documents. And praying that nothing will let you down at the last minute. Once you do all this, the purchase of your first home is complete. And now you can plan your new home and start arranging it to your taste.

Let’s summarize

• Establish your long-term goals. What does the homeownership mean to you? Whether you are sick and tired of paying rent every month or just want a property that belongs to you and your family, purchasing a home is never an easy task.
• Decide on a type of property and specific features according to your family’s needs and requirements. When choosing the dream house, location does matter as well as the size and room layout.
• Purchasing a house is a huge investment, so, unless they have significant savings, most people are forced to go through the mortgage application process. Determine which type of mortgage you are qualified for and how much deposit you need. Your monthly income, years of service, loans, credit card payments and other possible debts will determine the amount of the mortgage you are allowed to get.
• When applying for a certain mortgage amount, make sure you can afford your monthly repayments.
• Visit the property personally several times if necessary. It’s not enough to see the images of the property only on the internet.
• Find out more information about possible issues. Vendors or real estate agents most probably won’t tell you anything about possible problems in the house or neighborhood. Hopefully, you can get more details by asking the prospective neighbors who are probably eager to find out who is moving into the place next door.
• Decide if you can actually afford the house you would like to buy. All repair works will add up to the amount you will have to invest as well as property taxes, closing costs, insurance, maintenance, utilities…
• First-time home buyers should include post-move expenses when planning a budget.

Hiring help

• Hire a reputable real estate agent who will be showing you houses/apartments within your price range and according to your preferences. Also, the agent will lead you through the buying process and make the negotiation with the seller easier.
• Hire a home inspector who will check the safety and quality of the property and if there are some structural issues or some other irregularities. Do not purchase a property without having a professional home inspection. Also, have your legal adviser do all the paperwork for you.
• Try to reach an agreement with the seller and make an offer.

What to do after buying a house

A home means stability for all family members. Now that you have closed the sale and finally have gotten the keys to your new home, it is time to prepare everything for the moving day.

• Hire reputable NYC movers to help you during the relocation process.
• Change all the locks in your new house.
• Check whether alarm system and smoking detectors work.
• Protect your home from pests before the moving day.
• Deep clean your home inside and out.
• Purchasing a home is a major investment, so do not jump into other debts or loans until you regain your financial stability. Also, owning a house usually involves certain sudden expenses, so make sure your savings can cover them at any time.
• Maintain the property regularly in order to reduce sudden repair costs.
• Once you settle into your new home reward yourself for all the effort and hard work. Prepare a delicious meal, spend some quality time with your family and friends. You can even invite some of them to stay overnight.
• First-time home buyers could certainly use some sleep. There is no need to rush to unpack after a move, moving boxes won’t go anywhere.