Central Oregon Real Estate

First Steps to Buying a Home

The easiest way to make buying a home easy is understanding the process. Planning the process will help you discover the simplest path to homeownership.

Do You Know What You Want?
It doesn’t matter if you are a first-time homebuyer, a repeat buyer, or purchasing a vacation home the first question is why you want to buy? Do you plan to move to a new neighborhood or community, are you looking for a lifestyle change or is buying a home an option and not a requirement? What should the new property have in terms of what you do not currently have? Is there a time frame in which you need or want to purchase?

No matter how you answered the more you know the better prepared you will be and the easier the process will be. Talking with your Broker about each of the above questions will help you shorten your search for the “perfect” real estate.

Do You Have The Money?
Buying a Home and financing go hand and hand, over the last several years there many new and creative loan programs have surfaced allowing for little to no down payment or interest only. Finding the loan program that suits your needs is very important to the home buying process.

When it comes to the cash you need to remember you will also have loan fees and additional closing costs - some loans allow for this to be financed also. If you are seeking 100% financing be sure to have a broker that understands how this works and a lender that will work with you and your broker. Not everyone, however, elects to purchase with little or no money down. Less money down means higher monthly mortgage payments, most homebuyers choose to buy with some cash up front.

As to closing costs, in markets where buyers have leverage, it may be possible to negotiate an offer for a home that requires the owner to pay some or all of your settlement expenses. Speak with local REALTORS® for details.

Is Your Financial House in Order?
Those great loans with little or nothing down are not available to everyone: You need good credit. For at least one year prior to purchasing a home, you should assure that every credit card bill, rent check, car payment and other debt is paid in full and on time.