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In today’s housing market, it’s no secret that the number of buyers searching for their dream home greatly outnumbers the inventory of homes for sale. This has created a competitive marketplace where buyers need to do all they can to stand out. You can show home sellers and real estate agents you are serious about buying your dream home by getting pre-approved for a mortgage before starting your search.
Read MoreTopics: mortgage pre-approval
UPDATE: While somethings have changed, much of this information is still relevant to buying your first home in 2015. Check out our more recent blog post about tips and tricks for buying in 2015.
Preparing now for your home buying adventure next year will help make the process easier, and will help you buy that house earlier in the year. If you get started with small steps now, you can become a 2013 first time home buyer with no real headaches. The Boy Scouts of America use this for part of their motto, but it works in the home buying world too: Be Prepared.
Topics: first time home owner, first time home buyer, video, mortgage pre-approval
(The original title to this article referenced 2014. However, we've found that it's still quite popular ... so we've updated it!)
UPDATE: In addition to the great information included in this post, read our updated list of tips and tricks for becoming a first time home owner in 2015!
Education is a major part of the home buying experience. The more education first time home buyers dive into, the smoother the process typically goes. You intuitively know this. You're already thinking about next year, and wondering what it will take to buy a home in 2014.
Topics: first time home buyer, mortgage loan options, mortgage pre-approval
Buying a house takes time (no kidding) and some financial work (thanks Captain Obvious). The housing market as it stands now is definitely different than it was 10 years ago.
Back in 2005 borrowers could get financed for almost any house they wanted, at just about any price, practically without any effort. Today, it's a different story.
When you're looking to buy your first home today, you need to make sure you're pre-approved. In fact, many real estate agents won't even show you any houses until you're pre-approved.
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Did you know that mortgage pre-approval is a major indicator of whether your home buying journey will be rocky or smooth? Pre-approval is important in today's housing market because of a few reasons. For one, it's a seller's market in many places. Housing stock is low and demand is high, which can lead to multiple offers on a home. If you want a seller to take your offer seriously, a pre-approval letter from a lender that shows you have the financing will often give your offer more weight.
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What exactly does a lender require of a home buyer when getting ready to start the mortgage process? Is it different for the first time home buyer? Let's take a look at what kind of information you'll need to bring to a lender when applying for your first home mortgage.
Read MoreTopics: Mortgage Questions, first time home buyer, mortgage pre-approval
Why get pre-approved for a mortgage? It's a big help in the overall process of home buying. It's a matter of having the right tools - a pre-approval letter - for the job - house hunting.
Do you use a spoon to eat soup? Of course. You wouldn't use a fork. A fork will get some of the soup - depending on how chunky it is. But you'll miss out on a lot of the enjoyment!
Getting your pre-approval letter is like using a soup spoon - you'll get the job done right instead of missing out on the good stuff.
Read MoreTaking care of a home takes work and organization. While we can't do the work for you, hopefully this checklist helps you stay organized. Download your printable version below!
