First Time Home Buyer Tips

For a first time home buyer, our current real estate market may look very frightening, but its really quite the opposite. Mortgage rates continue be be at historic lows, and there is an abundance of homes available, both by homeowners and banks.  Both offer tremendous deals with proper due diligence and hours of walking through homes to find the one that is right for you. Here are some tips from investopedia to help make your first time home buying experience a pain free one.

• What type of home best suites you. Maybe you want a condo/co-op where you won't have much responsibility for maintaining the home. Or maybe you want a fixer up house that you can get a good deal on but will require hours of sweat equity. Or, maybe you want a no hassle home that is in move in condition.
• Before you start looking at homes, know your finances.  How much home can you afford, how much of a mortgage can you qualify for.  Don't waste time falling in love with a home that is simply out of your financial reach.
• Do you want to go about the home search buy yourself, or use the experience of a real estate agent.  A good real estate agent to help steer you in the right direction for many issues.
• You found your home now what. Make sure you have a good real estate lawyer and a good home inspection company.  Both can help save thousands of dollars and help avoid a real estate nightmare.
• Be prepared and know what the appropriate closing costs are. There is nothing wore than sitting at the closing table and being blind sided for fees that you had no idea you would have to pay. A good attorney and mortgage lender will help with that
• Be prepared to put money into your new home.  There is no doubt that something will go wrong in the home, or you will want to upgrade items in the home.  This is where a good home inspection report will help you.
• Enjoy your home and don't worry about the housing market.  If you plan to stay in your home for a number of years. the housing market will stabilize, but don't expect to make a killing on your home like in the past.

The process of buying a home can be overwhelming and time consuming, but with the right help, and with maximum knowledge, now is probably a great time to buy. To gain in depth knowledge about buying your first home, read through this article by Investopedia.

First time homebuyers mistakes

The current real estate market may give two distinct views.  Its either a great time to be buying real estate, because there are tremendous deals and bargins to be found out there in the marketplace.  On the other hand, some may feel that because of the economic uncertainty, its a terrible time to jump into buying a home, especially if it may be your first home.  If you are a first time buyer and have the ability to put down the down payment and qualify for a mortgage, this is surely a once every few decade chance to buy real estate. However, many first time buyers often make some mistakes during there first purchase.
Here are the top 10 tips from MSN Money that first time homebuyers make:

1. Not knowing what you can afford - Don't borrow more than you can afford
2. Skipping mortgage qualifications - Get pre qualified for a mortgage.
3. What about those additional expenses - Property taxes, Utilities.
4. Don't be to picky- To much of a wish list can be limiting.
5. Open your eyes and have vision - It may not look pretty now... vision goes a long way.
6. Don't be fooled by what you initally see - Control your emotions
7. Compromise - Be flexible for what you want
8. Don't pass on the home inspection - we can't agree more on this.
9. Have your own agent.
10. Not thinking about the future - What you want now may not be good for you later.

Dig deeper into these top mistakes by reading the MSN Money here.