5 Tips for First Time Home Buyers
5 Tips for First Time Home Buyers. According to Rosa Salter Rodriguez of The Journal Gazette, As potential homeowners are quickly finding out, in the Fort Wayne area right now, it’s not easy to find a house to buy, even in the midst of the traditional busy house-hunting season.
Statistics from Upstar, the Fort Wayne-based Upstate Alliance of Realtors, paint the picture. They show the number of homes for sale through Realtors in seven counties has sunk to a historic low.
As in – off-the-charts low.
For example, in February, the most recent month for which statistics are available, Allen County had only a 1.6 months’ supply of available homes – 714 houses. Putting that into perspective, Upstar’s charts stop at a two months’ supply. That’s a number that had never been reached regionally since records started in 2005.
Regionally, the picture isn’t much different.
The 1,211 houses for sale in February in Upstar’s seven-county area – Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells and Whitley – amounted to only a 2.7 months’ supply.
Here are 5 Tips for First Time Home Buyers.
- Before house hunting, get pre-qualified. Talk to different lenders and see not only who offers the best rates and terms, but manageable fees and costs. Lender fees can vary quite a bit from one to the next. The mortgage industry has three main types of lenders: big banks and credit unions, mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers. The big banks have checking and savings accounts and car loans and home loans and just about anything you might need for your financial needs. Mortgage bankers focus on home loans, and they use their own funds to make loans. Mortgage brokers contract with banks, mortgage bankers and private lenders to arrange for home loans. Pre-qualification gives you great information about how much house you can afford and allows you to move quickly if you find the right house.
- Get professional help – Find a realtor you can trust. Yes, you have unprecedented internet access to sellers’ information, but a realtor has years of experience. That experience can help you the appraising of a dwelling, the paperwork, the comparisons, and negotiation on price.
- Always hire a general home inspector – Hiring a home inspector is recommended right after the offer-to-purchase contract is signed and prior to executing the final purchase and sales agreement. A part of the offering should be a clause that ensures that the purchase obligation is contingent upon the findings of a professional home inspection. The inspector will examine the exposed portions of the home.
More of the 5 Tips for First Time Home Buyers.
- Beware of sleeper costs – Comparing the monthly mortgage payments to paying rent is only part of the story. The bank may require property taxes and insurance to be part of the monthly mortgage payment. Then there’s the unexpected. When a couple I know first moved into their house, the front, cement porch collapsed costing them $1.500 to repair.
- Understand the need for title Insurance. The seller produces a warranty deed and signs the deed at the real-estate closing. It includes a full legal description of the property and pledges that the seller owns clear title to the property changing hands. The warranty deed also guarantees that the property is free of all liens and encumbrances. Title insurance can further strengthen warranty deeds, in case of any third-party claim on the property.
JT Integrity Properties is here to help homeowners out of any kind of distressed situation.
As investors, we are in business to make a modest profit on any deal. However we can help homeowners out of just about any situation, no matter what! There are no fees, upfront costs, commissions, or anything else. Just the simple, honest truth about your home and how we can help you sell it fast.
Give us a call today at 260-202-2222 to let us know what YOU need help with!