Tips to Move Through the Home Buying Process Quickly and Smoothly

When buying a home, time is of the essence in the current real estate market. The home-buying process is not exactly the most clear process, either, for those who don’t eat, sleep and breathe mortgages. Sometimes not knowing the full process or the next steps to take can cause you to lose valuable time, chase after a home that is beyond your budget, or simply make the process a nightmare of postponed dates and frantic emails. Avoid the stress of a bad experience by beginning with an informed understanding of the mortgage process.

Here are our three top tips to assist you with moving through the home buying process quickly and smoothly:

1. Check your credit report to ensure everything is correct. The good news is there are tools and services where you can run your credit report for free. These days, many credit cards offer a glimpse of a credit score right from in their respective app. Use a trusted service to run your free credit score. Once you run your credit, check and make sure everything on the report is correct. If you do happen across something out of kilter, you can have the record corrected. You don’t want to wait until the last minute nor do you want your inaccurate credit to cause you to have a higher interest rate.
   
   
2. Know how much cash you have for your down payment. Different loans have different requirements, but knowing how much money you have available to put down on a house is critical in finding the best loan for you and your family. Choosing to make a bigger down payment can help decrease your monthly payment or remove the need for private mortgage insurance (PMI). Programs, like the USDA Rural Housing loan or FHA loan, require less down, but are only available under certain conditions.
   
   
3. Know how much house you can afford and look within your budget. Account for your income, expenses, and any assets you have. (Don’t forget about those savings accounts.) Your budget is greatly influenced by your debt-to-income ratio. This is the amount of income you have minus expenses. Calculate your monthly expenses and subtract them from your total monthly income. Don’t forget to account for taxes and insurance. Knowing the monthly payment that you can afford will help you calculate the equivalent purchase price of the house. Utilize a mortgage calculator to assist you with your calculation. You can learn more about our calculator on our blog or dive right into our calculator on our website.

Knowing these three things along with finding the best mortgage broker and real estate agent will get you into your new home as quickly as possible. We are here to assist you with your mortgage and if you need a great real estate agent (contact us to get started), our sister company REALTEAM is great to work with! So don’t hesitate to get started today with Range Lending!