Five tips for buying a home

Whether you’re planning to buy a home for the first time, or you’re just looking for a home that better fits your needs, buying a home is a big decision. You need to be strategic about your purchase to not only find the home of your dreams, but also purchase it at an affordable price and avoid spending more than you should. Plan to put these tips into practice if you’re planning to buy a home this spring:

1. Get pre-approved for a mortgage. With Centra, getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a painless process. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is vital to keeping you from wasting time looking at homes that aren’t within your budget.
2. Choose a knowledgeable Realtor. Make sure the Realtor you choose has a lot of knowledge about the area where you’re searching for a home. A knowledgeable Realtor will be able to tell you where the up and coming areas are and which neighborhoods you might want to avoid.
3. Don’t even look at homes outside your budget. The last thing you want to be is “house poor”, but it might be tempting to purchase a home outside of your comfortable budget if you start looking at one and fall in love. Avoid this trap by not even looking at homes outside your budget.
4. Choose an inspector with a good track record. The best thing you can do is find an inspector who is going to tell you where even the slightest issues in the home may be. If you know about all the potential issues, you can decide if they’re issues you want to risk or not.
5. Don’t let your emotions guide you. You may fall in love with a home and then find out the foundation is crumbling. Don’t let your emotions trick you into thinking you love a home enough to take on big, potentially expensive issues. Try to keep a level head throughout the process, and don’t fall in love until you’ve put in an offer, it’s been accepted, and the inspection is complete. Remember, what is meant to happen will always find a way.

If you’re ready to get the home buying process started, stop in to your nearest Centra location and ask to speak with a Mortgage Expert.