What You Need Before Starting Your Home Search

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You are ready to buy a home – congratulations! Buying a home can be an intimidating process, but knowledge is power. And I want to arm you with actionable steps that can help move the home-buying process along in a meaningful way.

Here are my must-knows before you start looking for a home.

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1. Get Organized

Much of the process is dependent on individual timelines. However, there is one that impacts you directly – securing your loan. When you go to secure your loan, the mortgage lender will do a deep dive into your personal finances. They’ll look at your bank statements, outstanding loans, investments, debt-to-income ratio, and credit scores (to name a few). Save yourself time on the front end of the process by getting all of these documents organized in one place (including any gift letters for a down payment or closing costs). That way, you won’t hold up the lender by searching for necessary documents.

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2. Get Pre-Approved

Getting pre-approved for a loan is crucial for a smooth home-buying process. It means that a lender has looked into your financials (see above) and is willing to give you a reliable estimate of how much you can offer on the home you’d like to purchase. These days, you can’t write a competitive offer on a home without attaching a pre-approval letter, so make sure to get this letter soon!

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3. Avoid Big Life Changes

So much of your control in the escrow timeline relies on your financial decisions, past, present, and future. Big life changes and decisions that can impact your ability to secure a loan include things like marriage, divorce, a change in careers, big purchases, and new debts (like that new car you’ve been eyeing or the vacation you’ll pay off later). These can put a financial strain on you or negatively impact your credit score, slowing the closing on a home.

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