When you have a career in real estate, and have done extensive investing in real estate for much of your children’s lives as my husband and I have, you might expect that your children are pretty real estate savvy; at least I did. I felt that by osmosis my children should know all there is to know about buying a piece of real estate, especially since our youngest son is doing very well in commercial real estate. Reality is, they still have a lot of questions. So for your benefit and theirs, here is my top ten list of things to know or think about for first time home buyers.
The Top things any first time home buyer should consider are:
-
Compare what you’re currently paying for rent to what you would pay to own a home, buy vs. rent. The keys things to factor in are:
A home is more than a mortgage payment. It is also: property taxes, homeowners insurance (this will be higher than renter’s insurance), additional utilities and routine home repairs.
You will have added tax benefits that could reduce your taxable income. -
Owning a home is often a great hedge against inflation. Rents will continue to rise but when a home is purchased with a fixed interest rate, mortgage housing costs will remain the same.
-
You should be willing to stay in the home for a minimum of five years to get the most benefit.
-
The average FICO Score that is required for a home loan as of February 2016 is around 720.
-
The optimal down payment is 20 percent [there are very good programs for 5% down but you will have an additional monthly cost of PMI (property mortgage insurance)]
-
It is important to use a real estate professional to help with negotiations, home inspections, contingencies and appraisals.
-
Make sure you have a team accountant, real estate professional, mortgage broker and often a real estate attorney to provide you advice and guidance. They are the professionals but you are the one who needs to make the final decision on what is best for your situation.
-
Start looking and narrowing down the location you are interested in but don’t make an offer until you are sure of the following things:
What you can afford as a first time home buyer (and have a pre-approved mortgage letter from the lender).
That the area fits your needs. Have a list of the things you must have, for example a back yard. -
Once a home loan has been approved do not apply for any additional credit, such as buying a car.
-
That you won’t be house poor. Buy the house according to your needs but be sure that you will still be able to enjoy your quality of life.
There are many things first time home buyers need to take into consideration. This is just a small sampling. Buying a first home, or any real estate, is a big decision. Make sure you’ve done your due diligence and surround yourself with professionals that have your best interest at heart.
Read the original article here - 10 Tips for the First Time Home Buyer
This content is intended to provide educational information only. This information should not be construed as individual or customized legal, tax, financial or investment services. As each individual's situation is unique, a qualified professional should be consulted before making legal, tax, financial and investment decisions. The educational information provided in this article does not comprise any course or a part of any course that may be used as an educational credit for any certification purpose and will not prepare any User to be accredited for any licenses in any industry and will not prepare any User to get a job. Reproduced by permission from OTAcademy.com click here for Terms of Use: https://www.otacademy.com/about/terms
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD stays near 1.0800 after upbeat US data
EUR/USD stays under modest bearish pressure and trades near 1.0800 in the American session on Thursday. The data from the US showed that the real GDP growth for the fourth quarter got revised higher to 3.4% from 3.2%, supporting the USD and weighing on the pair.
GBP/USD stays in daily range above 1.2600
GBP/USD fluctuates in a narrow channel above 1.2600 on Thursday. The better-than-expected Initial Jobless Claims data from the US and the upward revision to the Q4 GDP growth helps the USD stay resilient against its rivals and limits the pair's upside.
Gold pulls away from daily highs, holds above $2,200
Gold retreats from daily highs but holds comfortably above $2,200 in the American session on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays above 4.2% after upbeat US data and makes it difficult for XAU/USD to preserve its bullish momentum.
XRP price falls to $0.60 support as Ripple ruling doesn’t help Coinbase lawsuit against SEC
XRP programmatic sales ruling by Judge Torres was completely rejected by another US Court that ruled in favor of the SEC in a lawsuit against Coinbase.
Portfolio rebalancing and reflation trades emerge into Q2
Yesterday’s price action pointed at a possible end-of-quarter portfolio rebalancing as the session saw the laggards of the quarter like Apple and Tesla gain, and the stars like Microsoft and Nvidia retreat.
RECOMMENDED LESSONS
Making money in forex is easy if you know how the bankers trade!
Discover how to make money in forex is easy if you know how the bankers trade!
5 Forex News Events You Need To Know
In the fast moving world of currency markets, it is extremely important for new traders to know the list of important forex news...
Top 10 Chart Patterns Every Trader Should Know
Chart patterns are one of the most effective trading tools for a trader. They are pure price-action, and form on the basis of underlying buying and...
7 Ways to Avoid Forex Scams
The forex industry is recently seeing more and more scams. Here are 7 ways to avoid losing your money in such scams: Forex scams are becoming frequent. Michael Greenberg reports on luxurious expenses, including a submarine bought from the money taken from forex traders. Here’s another report of a forex fraud. So, how can we avoid falling in such forex scams?
What Are the 10 Fatal Mistakes Traders Make
Trading is exciting. Trading is hard. Trading is extremely hard. Some say that it takes more than 10,000 hours to master. Others believe that trading is the way to quick riches. They might be both wrong. What is important to know that no matter how experienced you are, mistakes will be part of the trading process.