« A New Breed of Buyer | Home | Real Estate for Military »
Quick Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
By Stephen Roberts | August 16, 2009
Buying a home for the first time can be one of the most important decisions that you will make in your lifetime. There are a lot of emotions that go into buying a home, especially your first one, and you don’t want to let those emotions get in the way of making a safe and smart decision when buying a home.
Now is a great opportunity to buy for all of the first time homebuyers here in the Henderson and Las Vegas area. The Nevada Housing Division offers low mortgage interest rates for Nevada’s qualified, first-time buyers, so this is a great time to start. The Nevada Housing Division recommends that as a new buyer you should follow these five basic steps when buying a home for the first time.
- Prequalify for a Loan: Select a lender, then make an appointment with the lender to determine eligibility, and based upon that information, the purchase price of the home you can reasonably afford.
- Take a First-Time Homebuyer Education Class: The division cannot emphasize how important homebuyer education is for the first-time homebuyer. It is required by the division for all of the division’s down-payment programs. It is recommended that a person attend a six- to eight-hour class in order to receive full benefits of the dos and don’ts of looking for and buying a home.
- Locate An Affordable Residence: Begin looking for a residence priced in the range that the lender advises can be realistically afforded. Don’t become house poor with all the income going into the house and not having any disposable income. Using the services of a real estate professional can take a lot of stress out of looking for a home; a real estate professional will have a number of listings to show without having to drive around neighborhoods looking for houses. Focus on what can be afforded; looking for a home can be fun — enjoy the experience. Use all resources such as home builders.
- Enter Into a Real Estate Purchase Contract: Once you feel you’ve found that perfect home, an agreement or contract to purchase is made. This contract will specify the legal obligations of the seller and the buyer, which should establish a specific date of purchase and set the price of the home. This contract should allow for enough time to complete a home inspection or if other unfavorable technicalities arise regarding identified requests. This will protect you if the contract needs to be canceled and earnest money refunded.
- Apply For a Loan: At this point, you can formally apply for a loan. If, for instance, it’s a Nevada Housing Division loan, you would work through one of their participating lenders. After you have applied, the lender will request that the Housing Division reserve funds for the loan at a specified interest rate.
Las Vegas area home buyers can get more information on our website. For all your real estate needs please contact Steve Roberts at 702-739-4392.
Topics: Henderson Nevada Homes, Homebuyer tax credit, Las Vegas Nevada Real Estate, Mortgage Rates, Summerlin Nevada Real Estate, foreclosures | No Comments »