Steps to Buying Homes San Antonio TX

buying homes San Antonio tx

Buying homes san antonio tx requires alot of work as well as alot of time, but these steps below can make the home buying process much easier as well as help you make better decisions in the process. 

 

  1. Start Looking As Early As You Can

The sooner you start looking around for homes the better. You can start  reading magazines, newspapers and even real estate listings.  Write down and make a note of those homes that stand out to you and see how long they will be on the market. Also look at the prices, that will give you an idea of what kind of housing trends there are in your area.

 

  1. Decide On How Much You Can Afford To Spend. 

Most lenders will usually recommend that buyers loo for homes that range in price no more than 3 to 5 times their yearly income. Lendes also will want you to put down atleast 20 % down payment as well as have a moderate amount of debt.

 

  1. Get Pre Aprroved Fot Your Mortgage.

Before you start looking around for your dream home, you need to make sure you know how much you can actually spend. A good way to know is by getting pre qualified for a mortgage. To get pre qualified you will just need to go into a bank an provide them with financial information such as your income and your savings. The bank lender will look over that information and then let you know how much money the will lend you to purchase a home. This will give you a price range of the homes that you should be searching and looking at.

 

  1. Hire The Right Real Estate Agent 

Real estate agents are super important when it comes to buying a home. Good agents can help and provide important information on homes as well as neiborhoods that arent available to you or the public. Their training and their knowledge of home purchasing and their negotiation skills can be extremely valuable to you. And the best part is that it wont cost you anything to work with an agent, they get paid from commissions thats paid by the seller.

 

  1. Purchase Home Inspection

Its very important that you pay extra for home inspection when buying homes san antonio tx  to check for any damages or things that need to be fixed. Your agent will usually help you get in contact with someone that does inspections and ensure it gets done within a few days of your offer. Home inspections can give you protection and a chance to renegotiate the price if theres is something wrong with the house. Both you and the seller will get a house inspection report to let you know if there are any damages. This is when you can decide if you want to ask the seller for a lower price or even back out of the offer. Also before you officially close the sale, you will have the chance to do a walk thriguh of the house, which will give you a chance to see if all the repairs from the home inspections have been made.

 

Most Important Tips To Use When Buying Homes San Antonio TX

buying homes San Antonio tx

Like any other big projects, a successful buying homes san antonio tx experience is all about getting every detail right from beginning to end. These helpful tips listed below can help a first time home buyer navigate through the process as well as save money and close the deal. Here are four different categories:

 

  1. Preparing to buy
  2. Mortgage selection
  3. Home shopping 
  4. Home purchasing

 

Preparing To Buy

The most important thing is that you need to start saving money to buy very early!

Here are a few different costs that you need to consider if you’re trying to save for a home:

 Down payment- the total of your down payment will depend on what kind of mortgage you want and what lender you choose. Some lenders will allow first time home buyers who have great credit to put down as little as 3% for a down payment. But even that 3% down payment can be kind of challenging to save for. For example, a 3% down payment on a $500.000 house is $15,000, so it’s best to save early and use a down payment calculator to help you decide your goal.

Closing costs– there are a bunch of expenses and fees when it comes to finalizing your mortgage, and those fees typically range from anywhere from 2% to 5% of the total loan amount. You are always welcome to ask the seller to help pay a portion of the closing costs, so that you can save on some of the expenses, such as inspections.

Move In Expenses– you’ll need to have some cash saved up for after you complete the home purchase. It’s good to set aside some extra cash for any home repairs as well as upgrades if any are needed.

Decide On How Much You Can Afford 

It’s very important that you figure out how much money you can spend on purchasing a home before you even start to look around. There are home affordability calculators online that you can use that can help you set a price that is based on your income, down payment, debt and even your credit score. 

Strengthen Your Credit

Your credit score is very important when you’re buying a home and it will determine whether you qualify for a mortgage or not.  Take these important steps to help raise your credit score to purchase a house:

  • Get a free copy of your credit report from all 3 credit bureaus and dispute and false errors that you get in the way.
  • Pay all your bills on time every month and keep your credit card bill low.
  • Don’t close your credit card, keep them open because closing them will increase the portion of available credit.
  • Always keep track of your credit score.

Explore Mortgage Options

When first buying homes san antonio tx you need to explore all your mortgage options. There are tons of mortgage options that are available for first time homebuyers and they each have varying down payment options as well as different eligibility requirements.