Learn About Buying:
Here you will find some great tips for becoming a buyer. If you'd
like more information about buying be sure to also check out
Century 21's online guide to buying or talk to the friendly and
educated staff at Century 21 Jim Lively.
What do I want?
To help you decide create a list of what you
would like to have in your next home. Then prioritize the items most
important to you and write out reasons why you find them important.
This list will then help you when you are browsing for a home, but
before that you need to see how many of these features you can afford.
How much of a home can I afford ?
For great information on finding out how much of
a home you can afford be sure to take a look at
Century 21
Mortgage information.
One of the first things you'll want to do is
"pre-qualify" yourself (determine just how much home loan you can afford
by estimating your maximum monthly house payment).
By knowing the down payment amount and your
maximum monthly house payment, you'll know which homes fall into your
price range.
The following worksheets show two steps for
estimating your maximum payment:
* If there is a
difference between the amounts of your Estimated Maximum Monthly House
payment in Step One and Step Two, use the lesser of the two as your
guideline.
If the down payment is
10%, ratios (factors) should be .25 and .33.
Before a lender makes a decision on your loan, additional information
will be requested (credit history, other income sources, etc. )
Formulas and ratios may
vary on loan type and lender.
Shopping for
homes
Find an area or community that is
right for you. Someplace you can picture yourself and your family
living. Now that you know what you want, how much you can afford,
and where you want to be, it's time to start finding actual properties.
A simple way to do this is searching online through a
listing database such as the one on this
website.
This can be a convenient way for you to see what is out there and take
the time to think about it from the comfort of your computer.
Be sure to visit Century 21's
website for a more compressive
online guide to buying a home, or contact one of our
experienced agents to help guide you through
the process.
