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You’re a renter. That means that your walls are probably white, your carpet is probably beige. If you’re lucky, your kitchen appliances work all the time. If not, you have a constant hassle with your landlord about them. You live with the unseen residue, stale smells and damage of previous renters. You may have neighbours a wall away on both sides of you, upstairs and downstairs, inhibiting your sense of privacy. You can’t have a big party that runs past 10 PM. You can’t play your music as loud as you’d like. You rent a storage unit for the stuff other people keep in their garage. Every month, you pay your landlord and he gets the tax benefits of owning the place you pay for.
And home ownership seems like an unattainable dream. But it isn’t.
There are many options open to first-time home buyers. Take the following steps, and you may be a homeowner, too.
Step 1: Find a Realtor®. You need a Realtor® who is interested in you, understands that you are new to the process and who is well-connected within the community. Your Realtor® is a key player in the process of turning you into a homeowner.
Step 2: Find a lender. You need a lender with experience helping first-time home buyers who has integrity and a wide range of loan products available. If you don’t know a good lender, ask your Realtor®, who has a lot of experience with lenders and probably has several that he/she would refer you to confidently.
Step 3: Meet with your lender. Your lender should be able to advise you on the following possibilities:
- Government sponsored first-time homebuyer programs that may assist you with a down payment;
- Other down payment assistance programs;
- Options for increasing your ability to save toward a down payment;
- The amount of mortgage you could currently qualify for; and
- Credit repair options if necessary.
Step 4: Make a Plan. After meeting with your lender, you will have a plan and a timetable for obtaining mortgage financing, which could be immediately.
Step 5: Meet with your Realtor®. Discuss a plan of attack and begin searching for your first home!
Owning a home is a financial investment that pays back in security, in freedom (haven’t you always wanted to paint your bedroom black?), and in the satisfaction that you’ve become a homeowner!
For more information on becoming a First Time Home Buyer, please see our detailed information at www.VernonFirstTimers.com.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
