Taking out your first mortgage can be overwhelming. How will you know what type of mortgage is best for you? To help ease your stress, you can consider hiring a mortgage loan officer to help you with every step along the way. Hiring a mortgage loan officer is a great way to ensure that you are moving forward with the programs that work best for your lifestyle. Check out some tips and tricks on how you can prepare to take out your very first mortgage:
- Save up for a down payment. Your mortgage payments will get lower depending on how much you are able to put down. Before taking out a mortgage, try to save at least 10-20% of your down payment. If you cannot afford to put any money down, taking out a mortgage is still possible!
- Know what you can afford. First and foremost, it is important for you to know exactly what is in your budget, and what you can and cannot afford. By having a handle on your finances, you will be able to know how much you should take your mortgage out for. To help determine this, you can run mortgage calculations online, which will help to compare your income vs. debt ratio.
- Check out special offers for first-time buyers. Did you know that if you are a first-time buyer you may qualify for special mortgage rates? Learn more about different programs that are offered so that you can understand what you qualify for!
- Decide what rate you’re looking for. Depending on your goals and your lifestyle, the mortgage rate that you choose may differ. If you are planning on living in your home for a while, a fixed mortgage rate might be best for you. If you aren’t sure how long you are planning on staying, you may want to explore higher-risk loans, which, although sometimes can be unpredictable, might work better for your lifestyle!
