If I were looking to buy my first house, I would do it NOW!

1. House prices have decreased considerably making a purchase for a buyer a bargain. 

2. Interest rates are low, low and, if the buyer thinks the offered rate is too high, can probably negotiate for a lower rate. This is true particularly if the buyer is looking at foreclosed property and has excellent credit plus a more than ample down payment.

3. Sellers who are looking to unload their expensive properties will be willing to negotiate with the buyer so as to shorten the sellers market time. Currently, inventories are extremely high (in otherwards, existing housing sales are almost standing still).

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There is a lot of free information in respect to buying your first house available on the internet. The problem with the “Free” is that a lot of the information is slanted, someone has their best interests in mind. Where can you get the best information to assist you when you are looking for your first house? Since information providers have profit in mind when they provide information, the best place is from a neutral source which is not involved in real estate at all. This information would only be available from a buyer’s perspective. A person who has previously, but recently, purchased their first home has the experience needed for the prospective first time home buyer.

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Your palace has to fit your family and your budget.  The location of your first house will be contingent on a number of factors.  Do you want to live in the city or town where you now live?  Or do you want to move to someplace “out of town” or even out of state?  Originally, I selected a rural area. That changed after finding my house.  I now live in a quiet area of the city I grew up in.

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Where do you go for your downpayment? Retirement funds are one source but only if you are very young, let’s say 20’s to 30’s. From my experience, I personally feel it is a mistake to take retirement funds to make a downpayment. Much better to use an inheritance, save yourself or win a lottery (laugh!). Some borrowers have taken a second mortgage to fund their downpayment. This can really put a lot of stress on your budget. However, if you are serious about owning, you may be willing to struggle for a while. Providing you have a fixed rate mortgage, as your income grows, your monthly mortgage payments become more affordable since they are fixed.

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According to my source, real estate is not moving. My contention is that it is a buyer’s market. This post is particularly targeted at young people paying too much rent.

How much rent do you pay? I will use $700.00/month as an example. In 10 years, you will have paid out $84,000 for rent and when you walk away, you will have nothing. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk away with some money?

The housing market has so much current opportunity. By opportunity, I mean a surplus of available for purchase homes, available money and great interest rates. This is a buyer’s market!

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You are buying your first house and your offer has been accepted by the seller. Now what is the next step . . Inspection.

Inspection is a right of the buyer. It will disclose many of the imperfections of the home. Some of these could be code inadequacies of electrical, plumbing and heating.

What is important here is to hire a very professional inspector. If the inspector is excellent, they will not require you to be present as the inspection proceeds. The resulting written report will be so complete you will not have needed to spend the time (hours) accompanying the inspector but will have some important information.

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You need to protect your financial resources when  buying your first house.  You may move in only to find the toilet has Chinese Water Torture or the thermostat is shot.  These are emergencies which cannot necessarily be anticipated. They also cannot be ignored.

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When buying your first house, it is difficult to know what to look for as you visit the housing market.

Does the house you are looking at have possibilities? What I mean about “possibilities” are, could you add storage or lighting somewhere or add an addition to support a larger family?

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Are you clueless as to what to look for when buying your first house? There are many things to look for.

Why be knowledgeable? To protect the largest investment, undoubtably, of your lifetime. Put emotion aside and get real.

An older home, starter home, can have lots of problems. For example, a house could have combination screens and storms. The screens could have large holes, allowing bugs and even critters to enter the home when windows are raised or you may not be able to wash the screens and storms from the inside of the home due to new inside windows whose frame does not allow enough space to bring the combinations into your home.

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Why is planning important when buying your first house?
No matter how many years you have rented a residence, you will need to know the “nitty gritty” when buying your first house.

Your rented space has a heating system so you are acquainted with “a” heating system. Do you know what the other heating system possibilities are? Do you know how important it is to change furnace filters and perform other maintenance tasks? Chances are, your landlord did most of the maintenance tasks for you.

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