Gettin' Goin'

If you have determined that this IS the time for you to make a move, here are a couple of things that you'll need to have squared away first.

1. Credit Check
If you haven't pulled your own credit that you should. Moving forward it's a good idea to check it about every 4 months or so. Mistakes are common and the could be effecting your scores. But you can get them rectified if your aware of them and you take action.
I reccommend using www.transunion.com . It costs a few dollars but you will get all 3of your scores from the bureaus (Equifax, Transunion, Experian ) and you'll see what the lenders see. If there are mistakes, you'll have the contact information of the creditor and you'll be able to dispute the discrepancy.
Many mortgage brokers/ lenders will tell you that the minimum score that you'll need for an FHA loan approval is a 620 average w/ some exceptions.

2. Cash Rules Everything Around ME

That's right, you're going to need some cash available. If your going for a FHA loan you can get away with as little 3% while the seller will assist you with the balance of costs. Conventional loans will require that you come up with a bit more.
Although cable news may have you believing that there are no other options than an FHA or conventional loan, that's just simply not true. There are other programs available, lenders aren't as liberal with the terms and conditions of these loans as they use to be because of new regulations, loss of revenue, and the overall collapse of our nations financial stucture as we know it. If you don't have any money but you have a family member that is still enabling you, ask them for a gift. Just make sure that the money is in your account prior to getting your pre-approval. Otherwise you'll have the lender asking questions as to where this additional 10k came from. It could ruin your settlement.

3. Pre-Approval

This is where the rubber meets the road. Go to your bank or Mortgage Broker/ Lender and tell them that you need to get a pre-approval.
This will tell you how much house you can buy and until you get a pre approval letter, your really just shooting from the hip. You don't want to go looking at houses and getting excited only to find out that your looking at things that your not qualified to buy. That can take the wind out of your sail. Instead, you want to get the pre-apporval so you'll know that ABC bank will give you mortgage for $ XXX,XXX dollars.

4. Call Me 484-947-6023

So, credit is good - check
Got cash - check
Pre-Approval Letter - check

Let's go look at some houses.

If your a little hesitant to do these things on your own, that's fine too. No agent is gonna tell you to go away until you have a pre-approval letter. If you need a little more attention than just call an agent and they can walk you through the process from beginning to end. You'll learn a lot as you walk through the process.

Keep It Real Estate

Chris Edwards
Realtor/Investor
chris.edwards@century21.com
484-947-6023