Searching for your new home in Kyle is an exciting time. For first-time homebuyers, it can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? Never fear, here is a simple guide on what you need to know as a first-time homebuyer.
- Determine What You Can Afford
Try to aim for the middle of what you can afford rather than the high end. Things happen and there are fees associated with buying a new home. These fees may include insurance, property taxes, homeowner association dues, maintenance, and utility. And the rate varies based on your location.
Zillow has an affordability calculator to help you do the math. You can enter the amount you plan to make on a down payment, your household’s combined annual income, any debt, and monthly expenses.
- Find a Trusted Real Estate Agent
Real estate agents do more than help you search for the right home and get you inside to look around. The best ones walk you through the buying process. You also want to find an agent that knows Kyle or whatever location you’re looking into. To find a trusted agent, ask friends for referrals. Interview them before you select one.
- Calculate Your Potential Home Loan Mortgage
After you narrow down your list of homes you like, start crunching some numbers. Realtor.com has a mortgage calculator to determine your estimated monthly home loan mortgage payment.
- Request an Inspection
Yes, even if you’re buying a new home in Kyle, you want to have a home inspection. While the Crosswinds community has hand-selected the builders with exemplary records of high-quality construction, it’s still a good idea to request a home inspection. Sometimes things get overlooked and the inspection will help find them.
- Round up Your Documents Early
When it comes time to sign the papers, you’ll be signing a lot of them. The final paperwork is about the size of a small book. Before you can sign anything, you’ll need to pull together many documents. That’s why it’s a good idea to start this process early.
You’ll need almost everything from the past two years including pay stubs, bank account statements, tax returns, W-2s, statements from any loans including auto and credit lines.
We hope this list will ease the feeling of being overwhelmed as a first-time buyer. A good real estate agent should be able to guide you every step of the way.
If you’d like to learn more about new homes in Kyle, please contact our Crosswinds team. To stay on top of great resources from Kyle and nearby, connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.