Spring is prime time for home buying, but you can gain an early advantage by taking these steps:
Here’s how to get started:

Get Your Finances and Budget In Order
- Review your financial situation and gather necessary documents.Your lender will need to look over your W2′s or 1099′s, bank statements, proof of current income, copies of tax returns, and brokerage account statements.
- Don’t do anything now that could damage your credit score. Postpone making any big purchases like a car or rack up a slew of credit card debt.
- Make sure you keep saving money and watch your spending, so you have enough for a down payment, closing costs, and more. Owning a home requires extra money for maintenance costs, utilities, condo fees, etc.
- Go through your budget to determine what you can pay (and feel comfortable paying) per month for your new home. Focus more on your monthly budget and desired payments and less on the purchase price for right now.
Get Pre-Approved for a Loan
You must get pre-approved BEFORE you get too far into looking at homes (Don’t mix this up with pre-qualified!).
Sellers like to work with buyers who are already pre-approved for a loan. It means you’re a serious buyer and can make a purchase.
Once you’re pre-approved for a loan by a lender, you will know:
- how much house you can afford,
- what your down payment requirements are (you can buy a home with as little as 3% down nowadays), and
- what your monthly mortgage payments could be as well as expected closing costs.
To get this done, meet with a mortgage lender who can get you up to speed on different loan products and their requirements (such as credit score and down payment), and give you an overview of current interest rates and their future outlook.
The better your financial picture, the better the rate and loan … it’s that simple. However, most people are approved for more than they want to spend every month, so be sure to understand the correlation between your price point and your monthly payment.
Tell your lender that you are interested in understanding what price range to be looking in based on the monthly payments you feel comfortable with.
Explore and Window Shop
- Really think hard about your day-to-day life and what you want and need in your home. Create a list of must-haves and deal-breakers.
- Get to know the neighborhoods in which you are considering buying. Go there for your normal activities such as coffee with friends or grocery shopping. Try some local restaurants and see what it’s like there at night. You should even take your kids to the different playgrounds. Your agent can also give you guidance on other neighborhoods that are more affordable but have the same feel and amenities that you are looking for.
- Start casually visiting open houses and look online to get a sense of pricing for the space, location, and features of homes. Think of this as window shopping but leave the wallet at home! This will help educate you about the local market and how much of your “wants and needs” are realistic within your budget.
- Self-Reflection. Assess your readiness for homeownership in terms of lifestyle, long-term plans, job stability, and potential life changes. It’s okay to wait if you’re not fully ready.
When You’re Ready!
If you know you want to buy a home this year, let’s get started before other buyers are out there making offers. Reach out to me so we can make a plan—this is an essential step BEFORE going out to see homes. Especially if you also need to sell a home, it’s important we time everything perfectly so you don’t end up with two homes or no homes. It’s never too early to start the planning process, and I’m ready when you are. Email me to get started.
Hi, there!
I'm Kyndra and I love helping people buy and sell no matter what stage of life they are in. From first timers to downsizers and all the chapters in between. Let me know how I can help you make your real estate dreams come true.
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Kyndra@king-and-key.com
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