With Christmas behind us, many people are looking forward to New Year’s resolutions for the upcoming calendar. Regardless of all the reports about how the market will shape up, it’s a good idea to put together some first time home buyer advice that you can review for 2017.
Remember You’ll Need to Keep a Little in Reserve.
If you think you’ve done all the homework you need to do by calculating a good down payment and closing costs into your mortgage numbers, think again. Any solid first time home buyer tips will include making sure you keep a little cash in reserve as an emergency fund. Although you’ve gone through all the necessary steps and even got a complete home inspection done, unexpected things can always crop up. Having the money on hand to fix a leaking roof is important.
Stay Within Your Means.
There are people who stretch themselves a little thin when it comes to mortgage payments with the philosophy that their incomes will go up over time and will be able to cover the difference. If there’s one thing most economists have been telling us since the 2008 recession, it’s that we now live in a world full of unpredictability. If you use 36% of your total income to cover all of your expenses, you should be staying within your means.
Make Sure Your Credit House is Standing
It’s a good idea to make sure that you’ve done all the preparatory work before you apply for a loan and a good credit history is one of the foundations that you can build an application on.
If you’ve been reading this blog, and are about to accuse me of harping, this all bears repeating because it’s so important that you have this part of your strategy in order. Although lenders generally have their own criteria for what qualifies, good credit is generally somewhere between the mid-600s and high 700s.
