Buying a house can be both exciting, and a little bit intimidating, especially if it’s your first time. Although it is a bit of a tricky process, it is far from impossible. Here’s what you need to do.
Searching.
The first thing you’re going to need to do when buying a house is, well, find a home for sale locally that you’ll want to live in. Naturally, you should try looking online. There are a ton of great listing sites out there, but don’t only do that. You should also drive around the area you’d like to live in, and see if there are any local houses for sale there. It might also help to get a real estate agent, as their connections may be able to get you a house you might not have found otherwise.
Offering.
After you’ve looked at all the different homes for sale and found one you like, you need to put an offer in. Unlike most things, you can haggle over the price when buying a house, but it’s a little tricky. You don’t want to just say you’ll pay the asking price, because you might be able to get a better deal. Then again, you don’t want to go too low, since you may offend the sellers. If you hadn’t already gotten a real estate agent, this is the time when you might want to, since their bargaining expertise will come in handy.
Loaning.
Once your offer has been accepted by the seller, you need to get a loan from a lender, be a bank, credit union, or wherever else you might want to go to get a home loan. There, they’ll review your financial history and your credit, and discuss the options they can offer you when buying a house, all the different types of mortgages, terms, interest rates, and everything.
Closing.
After you’ve secured a loan, you need to close, and then you’re all done buying a house. To do that, you sign the closing paperwork, and pay the down payment, as well as legal fees, transfer taxes, and appraisal fees. Then, once the vendor has received the mortgage money, you’ll get your keys.
Congratulations on buying a house for the first time! If you have any questions about buying a house, feel free to share in the comments.