Top 10 Things to Consider Before Buying a Home

Many home buyers are recognizing falling home prices as a time of opportunity to purchase their first or even next home. Before you begin buying a home; however, there are ten critical factors that should be taken into consideration.

First, if you have not already established a budget, now is the time do so. You can establish a budget by writing down how much income you receive within a one month time period as well as all the expenses you have during that time. Be sure to write down all of your expenses and do not leave anything out. Take a careful look at everything to be sure that your expenses are not actually exceeding your income. If that is the case, it's time to take a look at areas where you can cut down.

You also need to take a look at creating a sample of what your budget will look like after you have purchased a home. Keep in mind that your expenses will change as you become a home owner. You will become responsible for expenses that you do not have to worry about now such as homeowner's insurance, maintenance and repairs, property taxes, lawn equipment, homeowner association fees and possibly higher utility bills.

It's also a good idea to go ahead and begin establishing a back up fund if you do not have a savings account. These are funds that you can fall back on in the case of an emergency. Ideally, you should have enough money in your fund to cover at least three months of living expenses in the even that something occurs to interrupt your income. This will prevent you from losing your new home through foreclosure in the event something unforeseen occurs.

As you are probably aware, you will need to make a down payment on the purchase of your new home. You will need to put at least 20% of the purchase price of your home down in order to avoid paying PMI or private mortgage insurance. While it is possible to obtain a loan with a far lower down payment, keep in mind that PMI will increase the cost of your monthly mortgage payments.

Now is also the time to start working on paying down your debt. This is especially true if you have significant amounts of student debt and/or a lot of credit card debt. Keep in mind that a lender will be checking out all of your financial information including those debts. Most lenders require that all debts combined, including your new mortgage not exceed 38% of your total income.

It is also a good idea to check out your own credit report before applying for a mortgage loan. This will give you an opportunity to find out where you stand and to correct any possible errors that may be on your credit report.

Once you have all of your financials under control it is time to begin turning your attention to exactly what kind of home you might need. Unfortunately, many homebuyers focus on what they want instead of what they need. As a result it doesn't take long before their dream home becomes unsuitable. Give careful thought to exactly how much space you need in a home. While a large home may seem impressive, if you don't actually need all of that space, the cost of owning and maintaining such a large home can become burdensome very quickly. On the other hand, if you plan to expand your family in the near future it could be wise to go ahead and purchase a larger home that you actually need right now in order to accommodate future space requirements.

When shopping around for homes make sure you do not overlook any possible opportunities. Many buyers shy away from homes that are for sale by owner; however, in reality considering these homes might actually save you some money. Owners who are handling the sale of their homes on their own may be able to crop some off the sales price as they do not need to worry about a real estate commission.

Finally, be sure to exercise the use of the Internet in your search for your new home. Today there are an abundance of homes that are for sale online. Using the Internet in your search can help you to quickly determine exactly what is available in the housing market right now and give you an idea of how much you will need to spend for the house you want.

Andrew owns a Home Buyers Guide that provides many home buying advices. You can visit his website at:http://www.buy-and-sell-house-fast.com/home-buying-guide.shtml.