Buying a home can be a super exciting adventure. It is one of the largest purchases you will make in your life time. I know how excited I was when my husband and I purchased our first home. The anticipation and the dreaming that happened in the early stages was so much fun. Honestly, it was fun through out the entire process though I wish that I had a little bit more knowledge going in. That’s why I’m here! I want to make sure that as a home buyer you have all the info you could ever need and then some. So let’s get started:

#1 KNOW YOUR FINANCES

If you haven’t checked your credit recently, I think this is where you should start. Your credit report is going to the be the first thing a lender will look at and you want to make sure that everything is perfect. If you have the time try and boost your credit score. This could take six months or so to do, but just lower your income to debt ratio will bump it up. Start paying down those credit cards and try and not use them for two months before you start your loan application.

Once your credit is in order set a budget. You’ll want to be able to afford to live in your new home comfortably so your mortgage payment should be no more then 25% of your take home pay and you should have a decent down payment saved.  The budget you set will better help you with determining where you can live. Different towns and counties are at different price points. You should also consider the taxes for the town, remember these never go away and they probably will go up with time. So, now that you know what you can afford lets move on to…

#2 DECIDING WHERE YOU WANT TO LIVE

This is probably my favorite part. Driving through all the different neighbors, researching the school systems, and checking out all the local bars and restaurants are just my jam!! I am technically a millennial (though I think I’m a Xennial) so I do love me some online reviews and research. There are lot of things that people want in a location and they all differ from person to person.

 Where I live, for example, lots of people look for travel time into New York City, 45mins by train, with a decent piece of property and schools. You could be looking for something totally different. Maybe you’re in the market for condo in the city or a farm in the country. No matter what your looking for there is a home out there for you. Which brings me to my last and final point…

#3 FIND A GREAT REALTOR

Whether your moving from far away or across town a great realtor will be of value to you. Realtors help navigate this murky sea. There is a lot to know and they are your greatest source of reference. From helping you finding a mortgage broker, to showing you homes, getting through home inspections, or seeing you at the closing table with keys in hand our job as realtors is to make your lives easier.

Now if you’re in my housing market I hope that you will reach out and let me help you with your real estate needs. But if you’re not there are a lot of places to find one. One of the best methods is word of mouth. Ask your friends and family for a realtor that they worked with. Make sure you find out what they liked about that person and what they didn’t. Not every person is a good match for each other. Another great way to find recommendations is on your local Facebook boards. I can’t tell you the amount of times I have been on mine asking for recommendations. If you’re not using yours to find awesome people to work with or places to go you are really missing out.

These three things in my opinion are the most important when starting you’re search. I hope that you found them helpful and if you can think of anything I missed or if you just want to say hi please comment below!! Thanks for reading!!\

XOXO

JESS