A Guide to Stress-Free Home Buying

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There’s no doubt about it: buying a home is a stressful process, even if you ignore the fact that you have to actually move into it! There are ways you can alleviate the stress you’re going to feel, however. The less stressed you feel, the more clear-headed you’ll be, which will help you make the best decision possible for you and your family when choosing a home and mortgage options. Here’s a quick guide for you.

Key things to remember

Before you buy a home, you need to make sure you’re really ready to do so – otherwise, you’re going to create a lot of long-term stress for yourself. And I’m not just talking about finances. If you’re going to buy a home, you should be prepared to stay in that home for maybe five to ten years. That’s a big commitment, so don’t rush into it!

Start saving

The more money you have behind you, the less stressful this process is going to be! Of course, saving up money is easier said than done, but it’s necessary if you want to get a decent mortgage from a reputable company. There are some mortgage companies out there that may work with you if you have bad credit and not a lot of savings, but they’re often not the kind of company you want to work with! Paying off any debts you may have accumulated over the years is also a must before you start looking for homes.

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Mortgage pre-approval

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage means getting approved before you start looking for a home. This relieves stress in a lot of ways. It gives you a much more accurate and reasonable estimate if you’re wondering “How much mortgage can I get?”. Trying to go about it the other way round will make it less likely you’ll get the home you want – and can also cause you to sign up for higher mortgage amounts than you can reasonably manage going forward.

Work with a professional

Unless you have a lot of free time and some intimate knowledge of the real estate game, you’re going to want to hire a real estate agent. These guys bring the knowledge and experience necessary to get you through the home-buying process – something that will take a lot of stress out of the process for you! However, be aware that real estate agents get paid by commission, so they have a vested interested in finding you houses at as high a price as possible. Bear that in mind when working with them!

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Inspection and insurance

Finally, you need to make sure you protect yourself going forward by investing in both inspection and insurance. Before buying a property, you can free yourself of a lot of worry by getting the home properly inspected before signing anything. Work with an independent home inspector, who will list every problem with the property they can locate. After all, you don’t want to buy a home that has serious problems with it (unless you can negotiate a lower price!). And, of course, you’ll want to make sure you get a good deal on home insurance.