Things to Know Before Buying your First Home

Buying your first home should be an amazing, very exciting adventure! I thought now that I have officially been in my new house for just over a month, I would share some key things if you are just considering buying your first home. As a forewarning, this process will bring all of the emotions your way, but - I've been told! - it will be very worth it. 

The investment of buying a home is one that you will always be glad that you made at the end of the day. But, buying your first home also comes with a lot of things to do, and you might not know where to start. I've always said it should be something that we are taught in school! If this sounds familiar, keep reading along, because today I'm partnering with MoversBoost to share some great information. They provide local moving leads to relocation globally.

Talk with a lender first

Before you do anything, talk to a lender. Let them run the numbers for you so that you can see if it is even feasible to buy your first home. While this is a great investment to make, it’s also a big investment, and sometimes, you cannot afford exactly what you want. You won’t know if that is the case or not until you talk with a lender! Something to keep in mind: not all lenders are created equally. There are great lenders, there are so-so lenders, and then there are lenders that you probably do not want to deal with. Get word-of-mouth references to make sure that your lender is one of the great ones or look online for reviews. The lender can be all the difference with how the process goes. I ended up going with Nationwide. 

Find a great agent

Another thing that is really helpful is a great agent. Again, word-of-mouth references are good, but then interview a few agents to see who you best get along with. Just like a lender can make the process much better and easier, so can your agent. In fact, a bad agent can ruin a deal and a great agent can make the deal faster, easier, and much better for everyone involved! A great agent is worth their weight in gold. As a new home buyer, you probably have a lot of questions that will pop up along the way. Your agent should be there to hold your hand and guide you along the process. They can help you find other reputable vendors (like a great inspector or a moving company) and they can also answer your questions, as well. Not everyone these days has a specific agent, and I ended up having a couple of agents and multiple estate agents, to ensure I got to see the houses before they went on the market, because everything was selling so fast at the start of the year. 

Stick to your lower price point

Once you purchase your first home, you will more than likely have repairs and renovations that pop up. Make sure that when you purchase your home (and any home after that, too), that you do not spend too much on your home, making it feel impossible to do anything else but survive. When your lender gives you your budget, go under that. Trust me - you will be thankful that you went under your top price as the years go on. As you know, I slightly regret my decision to not do this, but I still made sure to have savings left over do to renovations and buy big purchases on moving. 

Spending extra on crucial things 

Spending extra on little things that make the process easier is definitely better in the long run. Take moving, for example. You could move yourself, but that takes a ton of time and effort. It’s really hard work! You could also end up with damages from running into walls, or breaking your furniture. Spending extra on a moving company is the way to go, in my opinion. This same mindset can go for other things, too, such as extra tests that you might not be required to do with your home buy. 

Consider it Moving says that getting everything packed up and moved out of your home is a daunting task. Instead, hire a moving company that can provide full-service options no matter if you need help with Long Island business relocation, residential services, or even apartment moving services. If you don't have friends to review, head over to some local Facebook groups and ask for good experiences. It can be challenging to find a good moving company, so just make sure you do your due diligence by reading reviews. 

Keep an open mind 

Buying your first home is just that: a first home. If you go into the process with an idea of what you will buy in your head, you might just end up disappointed by what is out there for you. Of course, as I already mentioned, it is important to know what you need and you should not sacrifice needs, but keeping an open mind throughout the process can help you not only find a new home, but love it even more. 

Don’t make any large purchases before closing

This is a mistake that people commonly make. After getting pre-approved, do not make any large purchases on your accounts, especially credit cards. Wait until after you leave the closing table to make any large purchases, such as appliances or furniture, for two reasons. The house may still sadly fall through or the moving in date may get delayed, foiling plans regarding deliveries. Even more so, spending money prior to final approvals can cause the lending and borrowing power to reduce so be careful.

I have so many more things I wish I'd known prior to starting the house buying process so perhaps I will share more soon. What's something you wish you'd known?