Sandpoint ID Real Estate: Financing for Noobs

5 Steps to buying a house

5 practical steps anyone can take to buy a home

If you search 'Sandpoint Idaho Home Loans'  or 'Best Mortgage Loans for First Time Buyers' , results promising 'The Best Mortgage Rates' can be pretty overwhelming. 5 practical steps anyone can take to buy a home.

If this is your first time buying a home or even thinking about about obtaining financing and applying for a home loan. It's all about figuring out how much you can borrow and still comfortably make the payments. Sounds simple enough but it can be stressful if you're a first time buyer. Let's break it down.

  1. Get Organized

  2. If you intend to buy any of this beautiful Sandpoint, ID real estate then you'll need to get your information together and begin searching for a lender. A fresh haircut and some new digs can provide a healthy a boost confidence and motivate you to take the first necessary steps. It's a totally optional step, of course. Defending your spending habits to a total stranger, while wearing sweatpants may come easier to some. Whether or not your loan is approved depends entirely on your credit rating. This is a pure numbers game. Walk into a bank wearing flippers, a Santa hat, and a monocle and if your credit score is over 720, you'll get a loan, probably with excellent terms.

  3. Get a preapproval letter

  4. Before you even look at homes make sure you sit down with the lender and get preapproved for a home loan. This is more than just taking a quiz online and getting qualified for a mortgage payment. This is the actual process of going through a home loan application with a lender or mortgage broker. They will go over all of your finances, credit reports, income and debts to determine the best price range for your budget.

  5. Don't Make Any Large Purchases

  6. Try not to make large purchases that may affect your credit rating. There's nothing worse than being accepted for a home loan, going through the entire process, only to find out at closing that something you have done has affected your credit negatively and you can no longer purchase the home. Wait until after the deal closes to put any large appliance on a credit card and certainly not buying a car during this time.

  7. If You Can't Afford a Home Right Now

  8. If the lender says that you are unable to afford a home at this time ask for a strategic plan to get yourself in a better financial situation within six months to a year. Ask what steps he thinks you need to take so that within a few months you are able to apply for home loan and be accepted.

  9. Be Smart About Your Price Range

  10. Just because the lender states a maximum amount of home you can afford doesn't mean you absolutely have to purchase a home at that price. Keep some flexibility in your budget by setting your personal maximum $10-$20,000 less than the lenders maximum.