8 Critical Things to Do Before Buying a Home

Flathead Valley Real Estate Podcast with Brett Kelly

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Before you actually buy a home, there are a few things you need to take care of. More specifically, there are 8 critical things you need to do to ensure your home purchase goes smoothly:

1. Crunch your numbers: Know what you are financially capable of affording and get a pre-qualification or pre-approval from a lender before you start looking for homes to buy.

2. Know your credit score: When you talk with that lender, make sure you know where your credit score is and what you can do to bump it up a bit. The better your score is, the better rates and terms you will receive.

3. Get a down payment: There are a few lending programs out there that allow you to get a home with 0% down. However, the more you can put down on a home, the better rate you’re likely to get.

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Don’t stretch yourself to make payments.

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4. Get educated with a local home buying seminar: There is a lot of information out there you can learn about how to buy a home intelligently and how to stay objective throughout the process. Attending one of these seminars can really make the buying process simpler.

5. Interview real estate agents: Ask them questions like how many homes they’ve sold, how long they’ve been in the business, and if they do real estate full-time. You want someone who has a great track record and is easy to work with.

6. Ballpark closing costs with your lender: After you’ve figured out your down payment, figure out the total amount of money you’ll need at closing. Closing costs aren’t cheap, so you want to make sure you’re prepared beforehand.

7. Consider any future financial problems: Make sure you will be able to handle your payments if for some reason you suddenly lose your job or income.

8. Live below your means: Don’t stretch yourself to make payments. You want to be able to consistently make them, and having a lower payment will make things easier.

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