Home buying 101 From mortgages and the MLS to making the offer and moving in, your essential guide to buying your first home
Book - 2022
"Buying a first home can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. Will you qualify for a mortgage? Is your dream home achievable? How do you make sure your offer will beat others? Don't worry-now you can arm yourself with the information you need to know before you begin the hunt! In Home Buying 101, you will learn all the skills you need to find the right house at the right price, with financing that fits your budget. Full of nuts-and-bolts advice and organized in an easy-to-read format, this book will teach you all the basics of: deciding the right time to buy; getting your finances in order; deciphering the MLS/reading the listings for clues; types of mortgage loans; and much more! With the help of this guide, you'll learn how... to find the house of your dreams at a price you can afford!"--
- Subjects
- Published
-
Stoughton, Massachusetts :
Adams Media
2022.
- Language
- English
- Main Author
- Edition
- First Adams Media hardcover edition
- Item Description
- Includes index.
- Physical Description
- 255 pages, 8 unnumbered pages : color illustrations ; 19 cm
- ISBN
- 9781507217405
- Introduction
- Chapter 1. Are You Ready to Buy a Home?
- Why buy a home?
- What it means (and costs) to be a homeowner
- Home buying readiness checklist
- It's okay to keep renting
- Chapter 2. Figuring Out the Down Payment
- What's a down payment, and how much do you need to save up?
- Saving for a down payment
- Other down payment sources
- Low- or no-down-payment mortgages and down payment assistance
- Chapter 3. Readying Your Finances
- How much home can you afford?
- Evaluating your financial situation
- Why your credit score matters, and how to find yours
- How to improve your credit score
- What is your debt-to-income ratio?
- How to tackle your debt
- Chapter 4. Understanding Mortgages
- How do mortgages work?
- Preapproval versus prequalification
- What you'll need to apply for a mortgage
- How rates impact your purchasing power
- What are points?
- What is PMI?
- What are closing costs?
- Comparing loan estimates to find the best mortgage
- Why and when to lock in your interest rate
- Chapter 5. Assembling Your Team
- Who's on your side?
- Working with a buyer's agent
- Finding a good lender
- Hiring a home inspector, insurance agent, and attorney
- Meet the other team
- Chapter 6. Location, Location, Location
- Why location is the golden rule of real estate
- Take a community-first approach in your home search
- How to scout and research neighborhoods
- Scouting from a distance
- Chapter 7. The House Hunt
- Determine your must-haves versus nice-to-haves
- Single-family, condo, or multifamily?
- Understanding condo documents and bylaws
- New construction versus existing homes
- How to search with intent-and intensity
- Why you should tour fifty homes
- Understanding major home systems
- Things you can change, and things you can't
- Chapter 8. Making an Offer
- You love the house-now what?
- How much should you offer?
- Deposits and timing
- What are contingencies?
- Negotiation and counteroffers
- Tips for navigating buyer's and seller's markets
- Chapter 9. Your Offer is Accepted: The Countdown to Closing
- The home inspection
- The home appraisal
- Purchasing home insurance
- Title insurance, attorneys, and other odds and ends
- The final walk-through
- Closing time
- Chapter 10. Moving, Renovations, and Homeownership
- Tips for packing and hiring movers
- Which renovations to do before you move in-and which can wait
- General tips on home improvements
- New homeowner checklist
- Home maintenance schedule
- Index