5.34 million existing homes were sold in the United States in 2018.
While people are not buying as much as they did in 2005-2006, many Americans dream of owning a home.
If you are looking at the Perry home market to fulfill your home ownership dream, you need to know the right process to make the purchase.
Scroll down to run through the checklist of what you need to do when you’re thinking of buying a house in Perry.
Check Your Credit Score
When you apply for financing to buy a home, lenders will use your creditworthiness as the most essential guide in how to engage with you.
Depending on what your credit score and history is, financiers will attach a level of risk to you and charge you a rate that is commensurate to that.
The higher your score, the lower that rate will be and vice versa.
As such, it is important to get a credit report and check for any errors. In case there are errors, contact the credit bureau and work it out together.
If once you get your report you find that you’ve got a credit that can tank your chances of home ownership you will need to boost it.
The fastest way to bump up your credit score is to pay off any existing debt. Once you clear it, you should keep paying on time and not letting it fall past due.
Another way to positively impact your credit score is to get another credit card account. Doing so will increase your overall credit line. As a result, your credit utilization will improve.
Getting another card which is of a different type than the one you already own will improve your ‘credit mix.’ A financer will see that you are able to handle different kinds of credit accounts.
Do you have a family member with a good credit history? Then ask them to make you an authorized user on their card. Their good credit history will reflect on you and improve your score.
Growing your credit score can take months. Begin your house buying by working on your score so that you have enough time to make an improvement.
Settle on a Reasonable Budget
You’re planning to buy a house in Perry. You, therefore, need to figure out how much you are willing to spend.
Take a look at your debt-to-income ratio so that you can figure out how a home can fit into the picture. As a rule of thumb, you will want your debt-to-income ratio to swing at around 36% and below.
To know your ratio, calculate how much debt you service. These can include items like car repayment, student loans, and others. Once you have the total figure, divide it by your total income.
Knowing your debt-to-income ratio alone is not enough to determine how much you can pay for a home. You need to factor in other costs associated with home ownership such as property taxes and home insurance.
Once you know your debt-to-income ratio and have all your costs at hand, you can determine the budget you are willing to settle for.
Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage
Once you’ve decided on how much you are willing to spend, its time to get pre-approval.
There are many types of mortgages, and once you have done your research, you can approach your lender of choice.
A mortgage pre-approval is basically a mortgage application without a particular house in mind. Having it will help keep your search realistic as you will know your financier’s limitations on your would-be mortgage.
Another reason why pre-approval is essential is that a potential seller will take you more seriously.
During the pre-approval process, you will provide information that will help your lender determine the right mortgage terms for you. A secondary advantage of this is that you can get to deal with any problems before making an offer.
When the time to make an offer does come, you will close on a house much easier since you got pre-approved by the lender.
Start Looking at Houses
Now that your finances are in order and you’ve got pre-approval, it is time for the fun part which is looking at houses.
Look for a real estate agent to begin checking out homes in Perry that are on the market and within your budget.
Before going out to look at any home, draw up a list of what you want. To keep the list reasonable, divide it into the things you need to have and those that you want to have.
As you look at various homes, that distinction will help you not walk away from a good home because of something you want. Conversely, it will also help you not close a deal on a home if it does not have your absolute essentials.
Inspect the Home You Want
When you find what you are looking for, you can proceed to make an offer on it. There are several things you will need to weigh to make the best offer, and you should consider them.
Once the seller accepts your offer, you have a window period of three to five days to perform an inspection.
While a home inspection is not mandatory, it is critical as it can reveal certain aspects about the home that can help you make a decision.
If there are any hidden problems, a home inspection will reveal them and save you from making a bad purchase.
Once the results of the inspection are out with a clean bill of health, you can go ahead and close on the property. Expect the final paperwork to come through in about a month after signing the contract.
Get the Best Perry Home Deal
Owning a home is a major milestone in the journey to the American dream for many people. When you are shopping in the Perry home market, you need a checklist to help you identify the best house.
Classic Home Inspection is a company rooted in decades of going the extra mile for homeowners. Schedule an inspection today to make sure that you are making the right choice when buying a home.