Buying a house is an exciting process, but it isn’t always a smooth one. Some renters look at the costs involved in buying real estate and wonder how anyone who isn’t wealthy can afford to do so. Yet they look at their friends and co-workers, some of whom seem to have less money than they do, and see that this plainly isn’t the case. A great many obstacles can get in the way when first time home buyers take to the market. Here are some of the most common and how you can work towards overcoming them in your own way.
Making a Down Payment
Potential home buyers who find themselves working paycheck to paycheck balk at the thought of putting 20% down on their real estate purchase. For a $100,000 home, that means coming up with $20,000. If you have a great career and have been putting money away for several years, that may seem like a very reasonable figure. If not, that figure might as well be $20 trillion. Thankfully, there are mortgage options available for those who can’t come up with this much cash at closing. VA loans and FHA loans can reduce the amount required and even some conventional loans will accept much less than the recommended 20%.
Qualifying for a Loan
If you have shaky credit or an unstable employment situation, you may find it hard to get a loan. Even though lenders are usually much more lenient in their requirements for home purchase (since the house itself is a powerful form of collateral), they can only dip so far in their standards. If you can’t find favorable terms or are simply shut out of the lending game altogether, consider taking a step back. You don’t necessarily need to buy real estate today. Take a few years and concentrate on improving your station in life. Find and keep a steady job, start saving money, and do what you have to do to repair your credit. When you go back to the market in a few years, you’ll find a much more favorable reaction from the lending community.
Finding the Perfect House
Because it is such an enormous investment, some home buyers freeze up at the prospect of bringing their search to an end. They continue to look at house after house, convinced that they haven’t found the perfect one quite yet. If you’ve been actively looking for real estate for 8 weeks or more, it might be time to stop looking and start buying. Buyer’s remorse is unpleasant, but eventually you have to bite the bullet and go with your gut. No house is perfect until you move in.
Jamie Mixon
Top Louisiana Real Estate Agent
Keller Williams
The Mixon Team
1522 W. Causeway Approach
Mandeville, LA
Phone: 985-277-1063
Fax: 985-727-7001
