first thing to ask yourself is your employment picture going to see any possible transfers to another area or layoffs ?
second is to determine the area and how much you can afford by going to a reputable mortgage broker and laying EVERYTHING out on your income,current expenses and if anything will change in the near future.
Do not fall for the sales pitch of ';real estate can only go up'; and ';you can resell in a year and make 50k'; phrases of the real estate clowns.
Do a standard 30 year 20% down mortgage and consider it a home and place to raise a family not an investment. As you can plainly see the ones who thought their homes were an investment are losing them everywherePlease share your advice and tips, to a first home buyers?
Be prepared to look at a lot of houses that will wind up failing inspection. We looked at more than 100 houses in 2 months but only 6 passed every inspection. Most had termites. Use an inspector that you choose, not the realtor.
Learn your local building codes. One house we looked at was billed as a 3-bedroom. Bedrooms have to be above a certain size and have a closet so it was actually a 1-bedroom. It also had a hallway that was too narrow by about a foot. If we had wanted it (termites) we could have gotten a huge amount knocked off the price.
Shop around for the loan. Don't get into one of those that changes the interest rate after a set time. Have the loan before you look at houses. Wanting a specific home and being given a deadline can overly influence your decisions regarding taking a loan or looking for a better deal. If you have a credit union available through your work, consider joining. They often have home loans.
Also shop around for a realtor. Most of them are online with photos of homes for sale. You can save a lot of time by looking through them in the office.
It can be less expensive to sell large pieces of furniture and replace them locally than it is to ship them.
If you are not already in a strict savings mode, start pinching the pennies now. The more you have in savings toward the down payment, the better you will look to a bank. Try putting 25% of your current income straight into the bank and do not touch it to see if you can comfortably afford that rate for payments.
If you don't already have liquid assets representing 20% of the value of the house you hope to get, keep saving and wait another year. Prices are still dropping and will for a while.
It is great that you are thinking ahead. Get a copy of your credit immediately. See if there are things that need corrected. Be sure to pay your bills on time. After you have pulled your credit, talk to a mortgage pro. See what you would qualify for currently and where would you have to be to get the home you really want.
Just a quick tip: It is better for your credit if YOU pull your credit. It might cost a couple of bucks, but inquiries on your credit drag down your credit score. So, pull your credit yourself (many states allow for free once a year reports) and THEN go to your mortgage pro. Be up front that you are just looking, but would be inclined to use them when the time is right.
Hope that helps.
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