What does a first time home buyer need to know?

Some people are answering this like I am selling my home. I am not. I am wanting to know what things should I know if I decide to buy a home.

First that buying a house is a huge commitment that will put you literally in a whole different class. Home ownership is the cornerstone of the American dream.

Get into a home that offers comfort and appreciation potential. LOCATION is the single most important if I had to chose one.
Poor location homes sell slowly in a down market.

Buy to match you lifestyle now but keep an eye for the future, so you may not need a 2 BR now, but you will almost as soon as you move in but do not bit off more than you can chew. Great tax benefits too. Always use an attorney and realtors dont hurt or cost you- the buyer a thing - but you should not use the realtor who is listing the property- they work for the seller.

check out your furnace and your electrical system and water and roof and make sure when you apply for your loan you have all your paperwork make sure you hire someone when buy a house to check out everything to make sure your not stuck with a lemon

Make sure you have a thorough house inspection. Paying the extra cost will be worth it in the long run.

there are only two people that represent you in the transaction. Your lawyer and your inspector, pick them wisely and listen to their advice. tb

Just went through it. There's a lot of costs involved that you may not realize. I have a good bank that over estimated and gave me a run down of everything. But I've heard of other lendors that don't disclose all the costs.

Hire a real estate attorney. For a few hundred bucks it is worth it. Make sure you get an inspection, and understand the cost of repairing anything that comes up in the "needs immediate attention" category. Make sure you understand your mortgage itself, especially if you have an adjustable rate mortgage. Understand property taxes and that they may go up, increasing your payment. Understand what escrow is. And if there is anything you don't understand, ask, ask, ask, even if it seems like a stupid question. Good luck! Owning a home can be a wonderful thing if you know what you are doing and can afford it.

FIRST, get yourself a Realtor. It doesn't cost you anything to use them as your buyers agent, and they will help you the whole way. Then get yourself a real estate attorney, and an inspection. Can't stress the inspection enough! Your Realtor will most likely have people to reccomend to you, and will be there to answer questions, and help you with every step. Congrats, and good luck with the new home!!

You need to know too much to possibly cover here. - Get yourself a good book for first-time buyers - there are a number available at barnes & noble, amazon, etc. Educate yourself about the process and what to look for BEFORE you make any commitments. And make sure you "shop" as hard for the loan as you do for the house. Good luck.

The comments about inspecting a house are meant for you as a buyer. Since you are a first time buyer you may not have thought about the need for this. If you hire a home inspector they work for no one else but you and will feel free to give you any bad news that is needed and talk with you answering any questions you have. They are very important for a buyer.

A buyers agent is important also. They will get paid out of the commission that the seller is paying. They get paid about the same no matter which house you buy so they have no incentive to steer you wrong,

My experience leads me to recommend getting a local loan officer-not someone on the Internet. Most people that I know that have been mistreated are mistreated by someone they picked off the Internet and often someone that is located far away so that you can not visit their office.

Look at a bunch of houses. Some people are not happy unless they buy a new house (they still need a home inspection in case they were not well builtl). Some people want an established neighborhood so they can see how the neighbors keep their houses and yards. You need to find which kind of guy you are.

Pay close attention to location. It is the main thing that matters when buying a home and the main thing that determines your eventual sale price. Are the schools highly rated? Are the parks nice? What is the crime rate? Is you home the largest in the area (bad) or just a little smaller than average (good).

Before you look at property, before you look for an agent, before you talk to a lender, you need to know where you can attend a Fannie Mae/HUD approved 1st Time Home Buyer's class and ATTEND IT!