{"id":78,"date":"2021-03-19T16:59:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-19T16:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/?p=78"},"modified":"2021-03-19T16:59:23","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T16:59:23","slug":"4-dos-and-donts-of-buying-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/blog\/tips-buying-home\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Do\u2019s and Don\u2019ts of Buying a Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buying a home is an exciting adventure, with promises of a huge payoff. However, it tends to be something that you learn as you go. Unless you’ve had extensive experience doing it before, then it’s normal to feel lost throughout the process. The best way to make sure that you avoid common mistakes is to learn from others who have done it before you. Let’s take a look at some of the most critical do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when purchasing a home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do Check Your Credit Score<\/h2>\n

Before you even consider going out and looking at open houses, you need to\u00a0<\/span>calculate what you can afford<\/span><\/u><\/a>. You should make sure that you’re financially able to get into such a big monetary commitment. A great place to start is knowing your credit score. Your credit score will determine how good of a loan you can qualify for and whether it fits into your budget to pay off. If you find that your credit score is unfavorable, then you should do whatever you can to get it to go up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the most straightforward ways are getting rid of anything in collections, paying your accounts on time, and paying off as much as you can on outstanding debts. It’s in your best interest to wait to apply for a home loan until your score is in a good place. That way, you know that you won’t get stuck with a lousy loan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Skip Getting a Real Estate Agent<\/h2>\n

A lot of people have seen shows on TV about people buying a home entirely on their own without an agent. The problem is that if you’ve never done it before, you can get yourself into serious trouble. Contracts and deadlines are a huge part of the home buying process. Having a real estate agent by your side who is familiar with the process is incredibly beneficial.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only is it less stressful for you, but you’ll avoid costly mistakes that you may regret later. Yes, you’ll have to pay them a commission fee, but when you look at the big picture, it will be well worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do Think With Your Head<\/h2>\n

A lot of people make the mistake of letting their emotions determine their decisions when buying a home. You must keep your cool and stay smart. Don’t go into a home and get emotionally attached to it if you can’t afford it.\u00a0<\/span>Think with your head<\/span><\/u><\/a>\u00a0and not with your heart when buying a home, and you won’t regret it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Forget Closing Costs<\/h2>\n

Don’t forget that the price of your home isn’t the only thing you’ll need to pay for. A lot of people make the mistake of forgetting closing costs. Closing costs include things like home appraisal fees, home insurance fees, and other expenses included in the home buying process.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buying a home is an exciting adventure, with promises of a huge payoff. However, it tends to be something that you learn as you go. Unless you’ve had extensive experience doing it before, then it’s normal to feel lost throughout the process. The best way to make sure that you avoid common mistakes is to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80,"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78\/revisions\/80"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chronicpoverty.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}