{"id":2233,"date":"2021-11-10T13:41:27","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T13:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/?p=2233"},"modified":"2021-11-10T13:41:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T13:41:27","slug":"what-first-time-home-buyers-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/home-buying\/what-first-time-home-buyers-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"What First Time Home Buyers Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For those buying a home for the first time, there\u2019s nothing more exciting than finally getting started. However, before you rush in, there are a few things that you need to be familiar with to avoid buyer\u2019s remorse. In this blog post, we\u2019ve made a list of the top 5 things first-time homebuyers need to know, in no particular order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Start with Education<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Have you taken the time to read up on the latest housing trends as well as how home-buying works? There is a lot of research to be done if you want to get the best possible rates available in a particular neighborhood. Moreover, there are plenty of loans for you to choose from, many of which can help to buy your first property. Here are just a few:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">VA (veteran) loan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">USDA Rural Development loan\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">FHA loan\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Conventional loan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Renovation loan\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">You Need to Be Pre-Approved\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Knowing your finances and getting pre-approved will let you narrow down your choices when house hunting. This will also help you stand in a stronger position when you\u2019re finally bargaining for a house you want. Being pre-approved means that your finances have been evaluated and lenders know what you can afford for your mortgage. Moreover, a good credit score can make you eligible for better interest rates, thus helping you save more on your first home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Work on Your Credit Score\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you aren\u2019t having much luck with the suggestion above, try improving your credit score. A lot of the time, the better your FICO scores are, the better interest rate you\u2019ll be offered for a loan. Chances are, your credit scores aren\u2019t the greatest, so be sure to become mortgage-ready using these simple steps:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Always pay your bills on time\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ensure that your credit lines are below 30% of the maximum amount\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keep on track of your credit history\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Always Speak With a Realtor\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Remember that no one knows real estate better than a Realtor, and they can help you through this complex process. Having an experienced professional by your side can provide you with many benefits. For starters, they\u2019ll know about pricing, details of the neighborhoods you\u2019re interested in, as well as all the latest news about the market itself. If you\u2019re hesitant about speaking with a realtor because of fees, know that these are mostly paid by the seller.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Save Your Money<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We all know that buying a home will cost us money \u2014 even if your home loan provides 100% financing, you will still need to be prepared for miscellaneous fees and costs. This could include paying an inspection fee or funding an escrow account. Even if you purchase a second-hand home, you might find that there are repairs that need to be done, such as leaks, old appliances, or window replacements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Start Looking for Your Home Today\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Being a first-time homebuyer can be a completely overwhelming experience. However, educating yourself and knowing what to expect out of the whole process is the first step towards being a responsible homeowner. Furthermore, you don\u2019t have to do everything on your own \u2014 a knowledgeable and experienced realtor can help address your questions and concerns and make the process smoother.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For those buying a home for the first time, there\u2019s nothing more exciting than finally getting started. However, before you rush in, there are a few things that you need to be familiar with to avoid buyer\u2019s remorse. In this blog post, we\u2019ve made a list of the top 5 things first-time homebuyers need to &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":2234,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,39,178,274],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consumer-guides","category-expert-advice","category-home-buying","category-moving"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2235,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2233\/revisions\/2235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}