Buying a First Home
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Buying a First Home

After 10 years of marriage, I’m still enjoying living in the first home I moved into with my husband. Buying a first home can be one of the most exciting events in a person’s life. Before making this important expenditure, people need to first sit down and determine how they will successfully finance it. After all, a home will likely be the most expensive purchase you make in your life. Talk to a loan officer and determine how much money you can reasonably borrow. Then, decide how much money you want to use as a down payment. You also must decide how many years you will finance your home for. On this blog, you will learn about the process of buying a first home with a loan.

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Buying a First Home

3 Home Loan Tips For First-Time Buyers

Irma Bates

Buying a home for the first time is a great step toward increasing your financial stability down the road, but it can also be a daunting process. The home loan process is a key component of your search. You will be spending a lot of time focused on getting qualified for a home loan and making sure you only take out a mortgage you can truly afford. Here are a few home loan tips for first-time buyers  to help guide you along the way:

Work Proactively On Improving Your Credit 

Your credit score is the main factor that mortgage lenders look at when either approving or denying your home loan application. In addition, a higher credit score will get you a better interest rate, which can lower your monthly payments significantly. 

First, look up your free credit report online. If there are any inaccuracies, report them right away so they can be corrected. Then make a plan to take action on anything negative that shows up on your report. For example, if your credit report shows you have too many accounts open, consider paying off and closing some of them.

Pay Down Your Balances

While it's possible to get approved for a mortgage while carrying debt balances, it's ideal to pay your debt down as much as possible before applying for a mortgage. This is because mortgage lenders place a lot of emphasis on your debt-to-income ratio, which is the percentage of your income that goes toward bills and debts each month. The lower this amount, the better your mortgage terms will be.

You can actually calculate your debt-to-income ratio online. If it's on the high side, start paying off your credit cards and look into making extra payments toward the balances of other debts, such as a car loan.

Gather Documentation

Applying for home loans always requires a good deal of paperwork, so why not get started early and start gathering your documentation now? This will mean you are already prepared when your mortgage lender asks for these documents so the process will be more streamlined.

Check out the websites of any mortgage lenders you are considering working with to see what specific documentation they require. Generally, you can count on providing recent bank statements, pay stubs, and the last two years' worth of tax returns.

By working closely with an experienced mortgage lender and following the tips in this article, you will help ensure your home-buying process goes smoothly.

Contact a local home loan service to learn more. 


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