Whether you are moving into Menifee, CA for employment reasons or you are finally ready to stop renting and purchase your first home, you may have heard that buying a house can be both an exciting and stressful experience.
One of the factors that worry homebuyers is their finances.
Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to tip the balance more in favor of “exciting”. Prior to looking at the beautiful homes for sale in Menifee, CA with a respected real estate agency like Team Robinson, try taking the following measures to help you secure your finances:
Request a Copy of Your Credit Report
Lenders will take a look at your credit report to help them determine your mortgage rate. As such, you’ll definitely want to take a look at what they’ll see. You may request a free copy of your report from Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian once every 12 months. Once you receive your copy, be sure to go through it for any errors, and immediately report any errors you may find.
Get Pre-approved with a Lender
Pre-approval means your lender has essentially approved you for a certain loan amount for your mortgage. This should provide you with a fairly accurate assessment of how much home you can afford, allowing you to limit your shortlist of homes for sale that are well within your budget. Additionally, pre-approval significantly reduces the time it takes you to secure a loan, which can prove invaluable when facing numerous other buyers for the same home.
Check Your Monthly Budget
Take note that the selling price of a home and your monthly mortgage payments aren’t the only monthly expenses associated with homeownership. You’ll also need to set aside money for any necessary repairs, an assortment of utility bills, and the like. Reevaluate your budget and make sure you can cover all of these expenses.
Offer a Higher Down Payment
Just because a seller is willing to accept a 10 percent down payment doesn’t mean you should do so. In fact, most lenders will require you to pay private mortgage insurance if your down payment is less than 20 percent of the purchase price of the home. If you can afford to do so, try to pay more than the standard 20 percent down.The extra cash upfront can give you an edge in a bidding war and convince a seller to choose you right then and there.
Sources:
Buyer’s guide, money.cnn.com
11 Hidden Costs of Owning a Home, investopedia.com