First Time Home Buyers Plan

Are you trying to purchase a house for the first time in your life? . If you are, then you need a first time home buyers plan.

The saying in business is: "People don't plan to fail. They fail to plan." You have to treat your first home purchase as entering into a new business deal--because, after all, you are actually doing that!!

There is no good reason to do any business transaction without a plan. So if you are going for a home purchase for the first time, you will need a plan, unless your true "plan" is to not know what you're doing and to fail--simplicity itself.

Steps in Your First Time Home Buyers Plan

• Know what tax credits are available to you.
• Know what to do if you have poor credit or non at all.
• Find a first home buyers checklist to follow.
• Know how you plan to handle the down payment and closing costs.
• Get Pre-approved for a home mortgage.
• Locate a real estate agent good with first home buyers.
• Locate what homes are in your price range.

Home Buyers Advice: Tax Credits

A first time home buyers plan involves knowing what your tax credits are if you're buying your first house. First home buyers may be entitled to certain tax credits that are just not available to you as a renter.

That's the advantage of being a home owner over a renter. So, learn about these tax credits. Talk to an accountant. Know your advantages of buying a house versus just renting one.

Not all states or counties have these special tax credits, but some do. As part of your plan, take time to investigate what is available in your area.

First Step - How to Buy a House

One of the first things you need to know as part of your first time home buyers plan is knowing what to do if you have poor credit or no credit at all.

If you don't have credit established yet, you might need a co-signer on your loan--which is not a good idea to try to find at the last minute. So part of your plan is arranging that in advance.

Frankly, I don't recommend that! No sensible person would put themselves into that situation, not even if you're one of their favorite people. You see, if you can't make the payments, then the lenders and their lawyers go after THEM, the co-signer.

So don't be surprised if even your most favorite people won't co-sign for you. They know that's a lot of responsibility to ask of them.

Thus you next step will be to find out what your credit score is!

Some Home Buyers Advice for Those With No Credit

But all is not lost! If you have no credit, you can get some very easily: get a credit card, make one or two purchases with it, and then pay them off immediately. Instant great credit.

See how when you have a plan you can succeed. I was able to set myself up with a good credit history this way. I bought a stereo for $300 (I'm showing my age here) and bought it on a payment plan of $11.43 a month. I made three payments and then paid off the stereo. Whalaa, I had great credit!

Home Buyers Advice for Those With Poor Credit

But what if you actually have poor credit? Well, your first time home buyers plan here should be to hold off on buying a home. Repair your credit first. Get caught up on past due bills.

You should not panic if this is what you must do. You have plenty of time ahead of you, and you can take your credit from poor to soaring in just a matter of months.

If there are any disputed bills on your credit, either take care of them or get documentation that they are disputed. Make yourself look strong. Don't fall into the all too common youth-trap of being impatient.

Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

The next piece to put in your first time home buyers plan is to get pre-approved for a mortgage. You are in a better place to negotiate on the sale price of a house when you have your pre-approval in hand.

The seller knows you are ready to buy. They would rather work with you than those who haven't taken this step yet. So make sure you have this step as part of your plan.

As you are exploring this part of your first time home buyers plan, be sure to investigate the FHA loan programs. Their programs are designed for first home buyers.

Home Buyers Advice: Arrange for Down Payment & Closing Costs

Now that you know how much you are pre-approved to buy, you have an idea of how much you need for a down payment. As part of your first time home buyers plan, you should have some money saved for your down payment and closing costs.

If you don't think you have enough money saved for that, then you will need to look into down payment assistance or some type of home buyer grants to help you. This is the type of things you need to have in place in advance. These programs sometimes take a few months to be arranged.

Be sure you have an idea of what you are going to do for your down payment and closing costs. This is an important part of your first time home buyers plan.

Home Buyers Advice: Talk to Real Estate Agents

An additional part of a good first time home buyers plan is to talk to local real estate agents and brokers. They know the area quite a bit better than you do, probably.

Even if you're buying near to where you grew up, the agent will understand the property from a professional perspective. This will help you know what to expect and what to avoid.

They can also help you with finding properties in your price range. One caveat here, find one who is good with first home buyers. That way they will be patient and willing to answer all your questions.

Be Confident

The final part of the first time home buyers plan is to be confident. A way to build confidence is to increase your knowledge. The more you know the more confident you'll become.

Be sure of what you have to offer to those who may be lending you their money. Without confidence you can blow loan offers. So take the time to build that knowledge and ultimately build your confidence.

Do you have more questions? Have a Question is a cool place to look for answers or ask your own questions. Go ahead...pick my brain!

Don't have money saved for the down payment and would like to know if there are programs that can help? Zero Down Home Loans has some awesome suggestions for you.

Would you like to understand the various programs out there? First Time Home Buyer Programs will help you understand the various types of programs.

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