5 Things to know if you are looking to buy a house in the next 90 Days

With interest rates as low as they are, a lot of consumers are reportedly leaning towards purchasing a new home within the next 90 days. Below I have listed some fact to know if you are looking to purchase a home in the next 90 days.

1) Find a Real Estate Professional to help you, you will want someone you trust in your corner the entire process.

• An agent will help you step by step
  • She/He will negotiate for you in order to get you the best deal for your home purchase
  • She/He will make sure that all items of the contract are followed
  • She/He will make sure the appraisals/Survey is ordered on time
  • She/He will make sure to go back to the negotiating table for you if need be after the appraisal and or Inspections are done on the property
• Your Agent will have so many resources at Her/His fingers tips
  • Don't have a trusted Lender you use, ask your agent She/He probably have a few they can recommend
  • Don't have a trusted Home Warranty Company you use, ask your agent She/He probably have a few they can recommend
  • Don't have a trusted Home Owners Insurance Company you use, ask your agent She/He probably have a few they can recommend
  • Don't have a trusted Inspector you use, ask your agent She/He probably have a few they can recommend
  • Worried abut the hassle of getting all moved in and switching all your utility services, ask your agent... they may have a concierge service that will do that for you.

2) Go ahead and get Pre-Qualified NOW!

• This is the number one hinder of purchasing a property in a time line.
  • Know what you qualify for, this will save your time and your agents.
  • This will allow allow you time to make adjustments if need be to your credit and still get qualified and purchase a home withing in your desired time frame.
    • If you need to work on your credit a little, please do not get discouraged, this could be as simple as paying off or down a little bit on one credit card.
      • Your lender will be able to do a rapid re-score if there are any items that needed to be paid off and -can usually get a new adjustment score to your credit within 7-10 days, give or take because of COVID, but definitely quicker than just waiting.
  • Do not go with what credit Karma says... most mortgage lenders will not go with Credit Karma, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.
  • Also if you don't have a trusted lender that you have used before with a MORTGAGE, ask your agent, they will have a trusted lender you can trust.
    • Agents do not get kick backs from recommending you Mortgage lenders, and a good agent has 1 or 2 that they can recommend because they know that having a good lender could mean the difference between keeping the closing date, or extending it 4 times. side note: I just had a closing extended 4 times because my clients wanted to go with a lender that a family member suggested.
  • If the first mortgage lender that you tried is not being forthcoming with the desire to help, get a second, third, and fourth quote from lenders. You will have 30-45 days to shop around to find a lender that will be able to qualified before it hits your credit again.

3) Pay down any lingering Debts

• This may include Credit Cards, or any large expenses you may have as far as vehicles, boats, any thing that is increasing your DTI (Debt to income) ratio... this is a big thing and that can sometimes be the straw that breaks the camels back when getting qualified. Lenders want to know that you debt does not over come your income.
  • Please note in TEXAS (check you state guidelines if not from Texas), it is considered a communal state. This means that even if both spouses are not on the loan they will still take the debt that both spouses have (if you are marriage.) So what this means, is that is it very important to be upfront with your agent and your mortgage lender with all debt that has accumulated on both sides, allowing extra time to pay some items down in order to get qualified within your desired time :)

4) Know ALL the expenses that comes with the purchase of a New Home

• You will want to ask you agent for a buyers net sheet... now this will be just an estimate and can vary depending on purchase price, any amendments in change in price, and even the closing date... though it will give you a good idea of what expenses to expect.
• In any home buying transaction along with the down payment you can expect there to be prorated taxes, and closing expenses, including but not limited to title, and lending fees.
• There are also items that will need to be paid before the closing which consist of but not limited to the Appraisal, Inspection, and even a structural engineer if need be (but not extremely common)

5) DO NOT MAKE ANY LARGE PURCHASES

• NO LARGE PURCHASES OF ANY KIND OF MORE THAN A $500
• PAY DOWN YOUR CREDIT CARDS DO NOT ADD TO THEM
• TELL YOU AGENT AND LENDER OF ANY LARGE PURCHASES MADE, HOWEVER THERE SHOULD NOT BE ANY

I truly home this help you when preparing for the purchase of your new home. Please feel free to reach out to me directly anytime you have any Real Estate questions and I would love to be of help! Stay safe and take care!