See how easily you can purchase a home

More and more young adults are positioning themselves to purchase their first home. For many, they are fortunate enough to have lots of family support to walk them through and make them comfortable with the process. Without it, the uncertainty can leave these young borrowers fending for themselves and walking away simply because they feel they don’t know enough right now. Is this you?

Don’t feel like an outcast. You are not alone. I remember my first home. I remember not really knowing what the process was. This applies to repeat buyers as well. If you are not regularly buying and selling real estate how can you become comfortable with the process? It was a very stressful feeling to not be aware of what I was being judged on. That’s the point! All prospective homebuyers need to be aware what the process is and how they will be judged…by sellers, agents, lenders, etc.

Once you have determined what you can afford and what (if anything) you want to?use as a down payment,?you need to be clear what it will take to qualify.

The strongest thing you can do to prepare yourself is position your credit and income profiles. This is what agents, sellers, and lenders will see. You will need 2 years job history or proof of self employment.

You will also benefit from a good understanding of how your score is?rated by all involved so that you can evaluate your current position. Paying down current consumer debt will max these scores putting you in the best position possible for qualifying.

Once you have pulled together income documentation and have a clear picture of your credit profile the last thing to consider is assets. Now this is not required, especially for first time buyers. However, the best possible rates are given to those who also have these “reserves” available after the purchase. If you have stocks, bonds, and IRA or 401K, savings account etc these can help position you into the final level and what would be considered “perfect” position to purchase.

In summary here is the best order to follow to make a determination of what you can afford and what you will be approved for.

1) Evaluate credit scores and make any possible improvements. Some things can be rescored quickly. Some will require payment and general aging to bring the score up. The bottom line is that as long as you maintain good payment history on your current credit accounts for at least a year lenders will consider you for a mortgage. So research what your score is and know what you need to do to get it above 720.

2) Determine what you will have for a down payment when you purchase. If you are working the credit scores this can also give you an opportunity to gather savings.

3) Evaluate income - debt ratios to determine what maximum payment?the lender will approve.

4) Determine how much assets (if any) you have to use for qualifying.

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