Regardless of whether you decide to buy an existing home or to build a new one, there are a few steps that you must follow in the beginning. If you’ve started this evaluation process by answering the very first question affirmatively: ‘Can I afford to buy or build a new home?’ then it’s time to proceed to the next step and perhaps the one we all least want to talk about: getting your finances in order.
Know Your Credit Score
Your credit reports (or scores) are an ongoing, ever-changing organism. These reports are a look at how you manage your finances on a year-to-year, month-to-month, week-to-week basis. You must know exactly what your credit reports say about your financial history before you apply for a mortgage. Why? Because these reports play one of the most important roles in the mortgage approval process and in determining the interest rate and other loan terms that the lender will offer you. If you haven’t looked at your credit reports recently, you might be surprised at their contents; errors are common.
While researching this story, I found four different errors that needed to be corrected in just one of my scores. That’s right I said “one” of my scores. Lending institutions usually consider the scores of three different major reporting companies when evaluating customers for loans. The big three currently are: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A low score in any one of the three or a combination thereof can either cost you thousands of dollars in the long run or sometimes cost you the loan approval entirely. To learn more about credit reports, how credit scores are calculated, and how they affect what you’ll pay for your new home, go to one of the governmental or independent internet sites such as: http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditreports/default.htm
Find The Right Lender
Next, get familiar with the mortgage industry. Finding the right loan and lender is crucial to a successful and less stressful home-buying or building process. It’s up to you to determine which lender is best for your needs, and it’s always a good idea to educate yourself about the loan process before you talk to a lender. For instance, are you eligible for a FHA loan, VA loan, HUD conforming or non-conforming loan? Find out what these terms mean and whether you meet their criteria. It’s also recommended that you get at least one competing mortgage offer before making your final decision. More than two offers is even better. Getting a loan pre-approval will also save you thousands over the lifetime of the loan if you’re willing to take the time to “shop” it around. After all, this will be the single largest purchase most families make in their lifetime.
Set An Affordable Budget
Now that you’ve checked into your credit history and are well-versed in how the mortgage industry works, it’s time to set a spending budget/ceiling for the home of your dreams. Once your budget is set, you can start the “fun” part: picking out all the special things that will truly make it yours. From here on it may seem like a game of give and take but realize that everyone goes through the same process whether they’re spending $100,000 or $1,000,000. Rarely does one house or house plan “have it all”. If you want each of the kids to have their own room along with a large master suite, you may have to give up a little of the family space or that giant deck that wraps around the house. The professional kitchen may cost you the “state-of-the-art” media room, and so on, and so on. Just keep in mind compromise is not always a bad word.
To Build Or To Buy
Building versus buying is a major dilemma in today’s new home market. The freedom to make decisions about the details of your home and to watch it take shape holds undeniable appeal. But there’s also something to be said for the security of comparison shopping, walking through a house, and “kicking tires that are already inflated” before you sign on the dotted line. To further muddy the waters is the unbelievable number of under-priced foreclosure homes that have appeared on the market over the past few years. This may once again make buying even more attractive.
Perhaps the single most enticing part of choosing to build your home as opposed to buying is the chance to employ green technology from the ground up. This practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient is gaining momentum every day. Green technology can complement and even expand the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Taking advantage of green building tax credits aids in not only short-term spending but over the long haul in much lower costs in the future.
Considering Going Green
Thanks to improvements made in building processes and materials, homes built today are 100% more energy-efficient than homes built, for instance, in the 70s. The advances include more durable roof coverings, better insulated windows, increased amount of insulation, plus high-efficiency heating, cooling, and water heating devices and equipment.
Another thing to remember about green building is that, as with any type of structure, it comes from the bottom up. Green homes do more than just provide an economical ways to heat water, keep out the cold, or recycle some landfill-destined materials; they incorporate environmental considerations and resource efficiency into every step of the process including how to minimize environmental impact.
Adding The Finishing Touches
Buying or building a home can be time consuming and stressful. After all the work and thought that goes into this decision you’re probably too tired to think about anything…much less on how to make it look like a home ripped from any home decor magazine or television design show. That’s where Whitley Furniture Galleries can help.
An interior design consultant for Whitley Furniture Galleries can alleviate the stress and frustration that comes when furnishing your home. They can work one-on-one with you in your home to measure your space, and design multiple room layouts to show how your room will look. This will allow you to see many ideas at once before making your purchase. They will pull together all the furniture pieces and materials to give the room that look you’ve always wanted.
Whether you decide to build or buy, or somehow blend the two for your new home, nothing helps as much or saves you as much as doing your homework first. Remember, that starts well before calling a realtor to start opening doors and before you start dreaming of what might be.
