Home Purchase Basics
Congratulations on Your Decision to Buy a New Home!
If you are a first time home buyer, the process of buying a home may seem overwhelming. Our home mortgage professionals have experience helping home buyers understand the process of buying a new home and can help you by answering any questions you may have.
These are a few things that will help you stay on track:
Plan a Budget
How much of a mortgage payment can you comfortably handle?
A simple way to start is with a basic monthly budget.
- List your monthly income from all sources. That total is your “gross” monthly income.
- Subtract from your gross income any taxes you pay or owe monthly – Federal taxes, state taxes, FICA (social security taxes), and Medicare taxes. Don’t forget to include the monthly amount of any estimated taxes you have to pay. What is left is your “net” income. If you receive a paycheck, your “net” income should be clearly listed on it.
- Now your other monthly expenses, such as savings, utilities, groceries, insurance, car payments, tuition, clothing, entertainment, etc. (If some are payable yearly or quarterly, divide the amounts by 12 or 4 and add that to the monthly expenses.) Do not include your current rent or housing payments, since you won’t pay rent once you own your own home!
- Subtract the total of your monthly expenses from your net income. What’s left is the house payment that you can afford.
Of course, you can always adjust your spending habits to leave more for a house payment. Just be sure to be realistic if you do that. An unrealistic budget can leave you in a financial bind when reality sets in. (Can you really get by with only $300 a month to feed your family of four? Probably not! Make sure your numbers make sense for your family.)
If this seems a little complicated to you, try our home mortgage affordability calculator.
Pre Qualify
You many have heard the terms pre-approved or pre-qualified. These days most realtors will not even take you out to look at homes until you have been pre-approved or pre-qualified with a mortgage company. This is for your protection as well as theirs. You have to normally put down earnest money and possibly pay for some inspections up front. So you want to be sure that you are approved to purchase beforehand. Upstate Mortgage will pre-approve you at no cost or obligation so you have confidence when you head out there to make that offer! You will know how much you can offer for the home and what your monthly payment will be.
Call: 864-232-3830 to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION and get the home mortgage process started.
Start Looking
for Your Home
Find a Real Estate Agent
Most real estate agents represent the seller, they do not represent you as a home buyer. It may be tempting to use the real estate agent who is selling the home if you have started the new home search on your own. It is in your best interest to have a real estate agent representing your interests.
Don’t Attempt Paperwork Alone
All the paperwork required for the purchase of a new home can be intimidating and frustrating, especially for a first-time home buyer. Your mortgage lender can help you with all the paperwork. They will explain everything and be sure that you understand what you’re signing. Count on your team, your mortgage lender and real estate agent. Their expertise will help alleviate your stress and will prove invaluable before you sign your mortgage.
Rely On Your Real Estate Agent To:
- Preview available homes to weed out those that are overpriced, or undesirable in some other way.
- Show you homes that suit the wants and needs that you’ve defined.
- Help you determine the difference between a “good buy” and a property which, because of its nature (neighborhood, market appeal, etc.), might have to be discounted if you decide to sell in the future.
- Negotiate the best deal for you. With a Pre-Qualification letter from us in hand, your real estate agent will be able to show the home seller that you are a qualified and capable borrower. This will strongly influence the seller, and may make the difference between the seller accepting your offer or someone else’s offer — even if your offer is lower!