First-Time Homebuyers: Riding the Perfect Storm (Part 1)

In my last blog, I talked about how first-time homebuyers find themselves in a combination of circumstances that places them in the middle of a "perfect storm" for buying their first home.

Now we are going to talk about how to ride that perfect storm right into homeownership.

As a person or married couple, who has not owned a home in the past 3 years, you are primed and ready to take advantage of the real estate storm we find ourselves in. You don't have to sell your home before purchasing. You have access to loan programs that allow you to come in with little down. The interest rates are at an all-time low, and their are hundreds of homes available at rock-bottom prices.

The first thing to do to prepare yourselves for prospering in this "perfect storm" is to look at your financial picture. Ask yourselves these questions: How much money do we make? How much debt do we have? Are there credit issues we need to deal with? How much money do we have for a down? Do we have any family members that might be able to gift a portion of our down payment? The answers to these questions will tell you what your financial picture looks like.

Any time you find yourself in a storm, especially at sea, you want to be in the hands of a good captain, that will have the knowledge and experience to guide you through the storm carefully. In the case of our current real estate storm, you want to have an exclusive Buyer's Representative (Realtor) at the helm, along with a reputable lender as first mate.

When purchasing your first home, especially in today's market of foreclosures, and short sales, you want to be exclusively represented by a Realtor that has experience in helping first-time homebuyers buy foreclosed properties, etc. They will guide you step-by-step through the process, and negotiate on your behalf from finding the right home, all the way to closing.

At the first meeting with your Realtor you will want to start the process of finding the right lender. Often times the Realtor can assist you in finding a good, reputable lender. You will want to have your first meeting with the lender prior to looking at homes. They will be able to help you to know exactly what you can afford and what type of loan will be best for you.

Please stay tuned for the later half of "Riding the Perfect Storm" in my next blog.