My Husband and I are buying our first Home. What are some tips and advice that we should know???

We dont really know about different percentage rates and what they mean. We are going to use a VA Loan. We are buying in Columbia SC. We know to get a newer home. But what else should we know.My Husband and I are buying our first Home. What are some tips and advice that we should know???
Try and apple for the loan by yourself without your husband as a Co-applicant, or have him apply by himself without you as a Co-applicant. This is a great way of kepping the other persons credit good without it being tied into the mortgage. Just in case some day things get tough the other persons good credit can save you both. However in this case you would make sure and ask that both names go under the title.


One persons name for credit, both under the title.





Do try and get a conventianal fixed loan 15/20/30 years, you pick how many years would be best for you. Shop around for your loan before you find a house so that you know what you qualify for. This also gives you a chance to get the best rate.





You may want to check out this website i ended up getting my loan through them.


http://www.amerisave.com/


They where straight to the point and got my my current loan which i love 15 year fixed at 4.625%.


Rates have gone up since then so don't expect to find this rate again. They do show all of their rates on line, if you fill in the calculator they have provided. I did a lot of research on this company and was satisfied when i found that they where rated as one of the best mortgage companies by both CNN and comsumers digest.





You need to find a real estate agent, if you know someone you can trust go for it. Ask relatives who they have dealt with and what their experience was like. If you find a house for sale that you really like and you do not have an agent yet, contact to agent who is selling it this will increase your chances of getting the home as he will probably push the sale to you, because he would get double the commission.





Make sure you learn about the neighborhood, how safe is it? How far is it from your work? how far is it from your family, how far are the schools? how far is the nearest market? etc... All these thing will have an effect in your life, for example how much money you will be spending in gas going back and forth every day. I have known some people who have bought cheap homes far away and thought they where saving money, yet they now spend all their savings on gas, and mechanical repairs (wear %26amp; tear) to their cars.





Negotiate your price after all this is a buyers market.My Husband and I are buying our first Home. What are some tips and advice that we should know???
You will be getting alot of good advice.........all im going to say is have a house inspector check out house before you buy also check out why the person is selling as well your neighbors...about 10 years ago friends of ours bought a house then found out a woman had been murdered in it and by law the realtor had no obligation to tell her... they never did move in to house and never got deposit back.......


so its ';caveat emptor'; buyer beware
I'm sure you and your husband have lots of questions. If you go to www.worldclassfinancialgroup.com there is an information tab. Go to the learning center. I'm sure all your questions will be answered there.


Good Luck to you both!!
DO NOT pay any lender an ';Origination fee';..Go to another lender if they want to charge you any fees that you dont think are right. DO not only shop at one lender. A mortgage broker or a bank is in the business of renting money. They are not doing you a favor like the same as if you are asking your brother-in-law for a loan...it is NOT the same at all.


Too many slick lenders...One of them is the large ';BAnk Of America';...too many banks take advantage of the human tendancy not to be to forceful when borrowing money..but this is different...look at it like you are renting a car...would you pay Hertz $200 per day for a mustang if Enterprise is renting the same Mustang for $100??? Treat lenders the same.


Get what is called a ';Good faith Estimate'; from at LEAST 3 completely different lenders...not all on the same website or from the same broker...go to three different banks or one mortgage co and 2 banks etc..... then, remember to look for any bogus charges like ';points'; or ';origination fees'; etc...


These things are sometimes negotiable and not everyone charges them. Refuse to pay them and if they wont remove them, GO somewhere else!! There are plenty of lenders whose good faith estimate of the charges you will incuur to initiate the loan are only charging the things that they have to..like a survey, and document stamps to the city, etc....


dont treat them the same as a person you are borrowing money from...treat them as a business that is wanting to rent something to you (in this case money) and you are the customer. Too many lenders charge bull$#@^ fees in the closing costs because they know first time borrowers are acting as if they are doing them a favor...and also because they know you may overlook fees they stick in there and they act like ';everyone'; charges these fees...because they know you may overlook the fees also because its not like you are paying them out of your pocket now...The fees are ';figured into the mortgage';...but you still are paying them in the long run....ask the lender about every single line on your good faith estimate and ask ';does every lender charge this with no exceptions?'; Because only about half charge ';origination fees'; (which is the biggest rip off in the lending industry and VERY common) and about half charge ';points'; but they all have to pay taxes and pay for a title search etc....Mainly remember to scrutinize the good faith estimate that you ask them all for, and tell them you aint paying this this and this and if they wont cross it off,,,go to somewhere that doesnt charge these things.


Email me at perryinjax@yahoo.com if you have any questions about if a specific line item on a good faith estimate of closing fees is legitimate and I will tell you if you should have to pay it or if they are scalping you. Banks make millions per year charging poor rookies $2000 ';origiation fees'; and such...that are not necessary at all...
Get a home inspection!!!
By all means have the home inspected by a licensed inspector. They will look the house over completely and check for any potential problems. They'll check all the heating and cooling systems, plumbing, the condition of the roof and foundation, and point out any issues with the house structurally. It's well worth the $100.00 or so you'll have to shell out. We wish we'd done this when buying our first house, as we probably would have ended up not buying it due to problems we didn't discover till months down the road.