Buying a house is a complicated financial and logistical process. The right preparation can make a huge difference in making the process go as smoothly as possible. Here is a list of the most important things to do before buying a home to help you prepare:
There are a few financials you should check on before working on finding a house. Your potential mortgage lender will look through every detail of your financial life, so the more you can address beforehand, the better. Things to consider include your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, emergency savings and regular cash flow.
The simplest way to budget for buying a house is to make a list of your current expenses. First, tally up your personal monthly expenses like credit card payments, loan payments, car payments and any other recurring expenses specific to you. Then, create a list of the expenses related to your new house. This list should include mortgage, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and mortgage insurance payments. Comparing the two will help you determine how much house you can afford and how much to budget for.
Shopping for the best mortgage lender before you begin your home search is a great way to stick to your budget and have a smoother buying process. Each lender has different terms, policies and practices, so finding the best fit is crucial. Once you decide on a lender, get a pre-approval letter from them as proof you are financially responsible for affording a mortgage up to a certain amount. This helps secure your place in competitive home sales and will make you a more attractive buyer overall.
Working with a real estate professional during your home buying process will save you time and frustration. Find an agent or broker you want to work with first and rely on their expertise to find the perfect home. The knowledge and resources available to real estate professionals will make the search and purchase much smoother.
Susan Shuxian Hu has been a dedicated realtor serving in Silicon Valley since 2010. With great passion, outstanding negotiation skills and due diligence, she has helped many buyers and sellers in their real estate needs. Living in West San Jose for more than 14 years, she has broad knowledge in Cupertino, West San Jose, Los Altos and Saratoga. She has enormous patience working with buyers and never tired of showing all possible properties that may fit client’s needs. Clients appreciate her best service to their satisfaction. She specialized in luxurious real estate purchase in Los Altos, Cupertino, Saratoga and Palo Alto. She also helped friend and past client’s referral working in San Francisco, Foster City and far reached Bay Area.
Susan Shuxian Hu was graduated in East China Normal University in Shanghai with bachelor and master degrees in Bio science. She came to US in 1989 and earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics in Texas A&M University in 1996. After one year of postdoc in Southern Florida University in Tampa, she moved back to Orlando with her family and started working in Lucent Technologies. In 2002, Susan moved to California, Silicon Valley joined a start-up company. Since then she worked in high tech Corporation till 2009. Driven by her dream job pursuing, she found her passion working in sales by helping people in real estate after one year of education in De Anza business and real estate law study. Since then, she has been serving many people in Bay Area for their real estate needs.
With bilingual advantage, she has been actively working with Chinese immigrants as well as local engineers and residents. With rich high tech background and connection with Chinese community, Susan has served in luxurious real estate in last a couple of years.