Many first-time home buyers really do not have a grasp on the housing market. This is okay! I was the same way when I bought my first home. I had no idea what I was doing or how much things cost or were supposed to cost. Now that I'm a little older, and have bought and sold a couple more times, and not to mention the fact that I'm a real estate agent now and was not then... I know much more about the market. I'm supposed to. It's my job to know! One of the things that will help you if you are a first time home buyer, is to set you expectations correctly. Here's one of the best ways to do that. Contact a couple of lenders or mortgage bankers, and ask them to get you pre-approved or pre-qualified. They will need to know some personal and financial information, but you will need to do this anyway to get a loan for a home. Once you know what you qualify for, you will know how much house you can afford. With that information, you can get a good Realtor or real estate agent to send you a list of properties that are in that price range of what the bank has qualified you for. It's very important that you know what you can afford prior to looking for houses. It's real tough to think that you can afford a $225,000 home and go look at a few of those only to find out that you only qualify for $175,000. Not that a $175,000 house is a bag thing, but when you compare it to a house that costs $50,000 more, you are not going to be happy with what you can get. So, save yourself some heartache and emotional scaring, get pre-approved before you start the house hunt! If you are a first time home buyer right now, don't forget about the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit. Ask me or a local Realtor or real estate agent if you qualify. This credit will expire very soon! As always, I hope this post was informative to you!
Steve Blair, SFR, Affiliate Broker, REALTOR
SilverPointe Properties
7105 Crossroads Blvd. #102
Brentwood, TN 37027
Office: 615-377-6330
Cell: 615-479-1639
Email: steve@steveblair.net
Web: www.steveblair.net
Twitter: www.twitter.com/blairtweets
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