What to Do Before Buying a Home

by Rudden|Bobruska Team 01/02/2022

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:

Check Your Financials

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.

Create a Budget

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.

Get Pre-Approval

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.

Find an Agent

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.

About the Author
Author

Rudden|Bobruska Team

Gary Rudden, Lisa Rudden, and Nick Bobruska  

RUDDEN BOBRUSKA TEAM

What sets your team apart from other real estate teams?

There is no team out in the market that offers what we do. All of us are Realtors, but

we each have specialized roles, which make our team so unique!

After decades of living and selling real estate in the DMV, we have established

ourselves as one of the top real estate teams with our market expertise and

cutting-edge technology. Our savvy high-tech marketing is on every website

and social media source. We have a huge network with other top agents, which

helps to premarket homes and discover homes for buyers before they reach the

open market. Our services include professional in-house staging services, broker

expertise in negotiating and navigating contracts, and buyer representation in all

price ranges. Each client has different needs and we create a marketing plan based

on those needs.

Our most distinct feature is our in-house construction and renovation team. We

are literally a full-service, one-stop shop when selling or buying a home!

How does the in-house construction and renovation team work?

All work is managed and completed through our licensed and bonded construction

crew. No need to call outside contractors. We are like “HGTV,” but we just don’t

have a show! Whether it’s a small makeover or a major renovation, we do it all. Our

sellers love this aspect of our team because we make preparing your home for the

market so seamless. Our buyers love the advice and insight we can give for future

renovations and repairs.

Having a licensed Maryland Home Improvement contractor as part of our team

along with the knowledge, experience, commitment and services that we offer, truly

puts our team as a vanguard in the real estate industry.