Mortgage Rate News

There are plenty of first-time homebuyer mistakes. Indeed, when it comes to buying a home and getting your home mortgage loan, it seems as though the pitfalls keep presenting themselves. Today and tomorrow, we are going to look at 10 first-time homebuyer mistakes.

Without further ado, here are 5 first-time homebuyer mistakes:

1. Not knowing what you can afford. Before you start house shopping, you need to know what you can afford. This is not the same as what mortgage lenders will let you borrow. It is about figuring what you can afford each month, and making a budget to see where your home mortgage loan payment will fit.
2. Failing to consider extra costs of owning a home. There is more to buying a home than just the home mortgage loan payment. There are closing costs, mortgage insurance, homeowner’s insurance (fire and flood sold separately), maintenance, taxes and interest charges. When you figure how much you can afford for your mortgage payment, take at 1/2 or 2/3 of that monthly figure and add it on again. That will give you a more realistic view of how much the house is going to cost overall.
3. Failing to get pre-qualification on your home mortgage. These days, what you think you can afford in terms of a home mortgage loan payment  may not be what the bank will give you. Make sure you shop around for rates and terms, and check with mortgage lenders to see what they will allow you to borrow. And remember, pre-approval does not guarantee that the loan will go through.
4. Not hiring an agent. One of the best things you can do as a first-time homebuyer is get a buyer’s agent. In most cases, the seller pays the commission for your agent as well as the seller’s agent. This means that you get these services for free when you are buying. And buyer’s agents in many states are required to act in your best interest. Plus, it can be helpful to have someone navigate you through all the paperwork.
5. Failure to consider the future. You need to do more than just pick a house. You also need to consider the future. Is it resellable? What are the plans for the neighborhood? What kinds of developments is the city planning nearby? These considerations should be looked as well as others.

Tomorrow we will address 5 more mistakes first-time homebuyers make.

Tags: first-time homebuyers, mortgage lenders, home mortgage loan, house shopping,
pre-qualification, mortgage loan blog, mortgage loan payment