Prior to looking for a new house in which to live, you must think about the types of amenities you desire, the location where you wish to be, the style of home available on that property, the neighborhood’s proximity to your workplace and to your children’s schools, and proximity to shopping and dining. This might initially sound like a lot of things to take into consideration for a property search, but you probably plan to be living there for a while. So naturally, you have to do your best at researching properties and ultimately picking the most ideal one for your family.
Another important element of conducting a property search will indirectly involve the type of home loan you will want to secure when that property search ends up being successful for you. Once a property has been picked, you have to talk with home loan lenders about the various down payment assistance programs and FHA home loans available, the latter of which is a mortgage that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration, an agency housed within the U.S. government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. You also should discuss whether you qualify for a first time home buyers program if this will be the purchase of your very first home. Also, if anyone in your family is a member of the military, you may also qualify for Va home loans, which can be discussed with your lender.
When discussing these possibilities with your lender, make sure you ask lots of questions about the various loan programs and how each could benefit you. For example, with an FHA loan a portion or all of the closing costs, including appraisals, securing credit reports and dealing with title expenses, could be paid by the lender, the builder, or even the seller of the property. Also with respect to an FHA loan, there is a special loan product that is called 203(k), which helps homeowners borrow extra money to use for repairs around the home.
For any property search, a look at your market and the home sales that are occurring is in order as well. For instance, in October 2012 California’s home sales had increased 25.2 percent over October 2011’s numbers, making it a five year high for that particular month. When conducting a property search, then, discussing with your lender and real estate agent what home sales look like and how successfully they are going will be valuable too.
