Important Things to Know as a First Time Homebuyer

As your local Westlake Realtor, our team knows how important buying your first home can be. This is such an exciting time but can also feel overwhelming and stressful. As an experienced Westlake Realtor and real estate team we understand how it feels to be going through this process and are here to help! Please ask all the questions along the way so that you can make sure you feel extremely comfortable with the process. See below for a few things to make sure you fully understand as a first-time homebuyer.
• Get pre-approved: This should be one of the first things that you do when entering the home buying process. You want to make sure that you already know ahead of time what your specific budget will be. This will prevent you from being disappointed if you start looking outside of your budget. It will also be helpful when submitting offers that you have a preapproval letter in hand.
• Maintain your credit: Make sure that you do not go out and make any large purchases during the home buying process as your financials will be under strict scrutiny. Make sure that you continue to make all of your payments on all of your accounts on time so that you can maintain an adequate credit score.
• Understand your loan options: This is a huge thing that most first time homebuyers do not understand. There is not just one single loan option available for any buyer! There are a variety of options available and working with a broker can help you be placed in the best possible scenario. A few loan options that exist are VA, conventional, adjustable, and FHA. Make sure you connect with your mortgage broker to fully understand the best option for your financial situation.
• Closing costs: Whether you are the buyer or the seller there will always be closing costs involved. Make sure you have factored in closing costs to your savings.