Could use some home owners advice

I have always rented. We are thinking of buying a house once we are married and I am honestly not sure where to begin. I have seen a few houses in locations that we are interested in online. Can someone explain the beginning process to me.

Do we figure out a budget? Get a loan? See houses? Get our credit checked? I am at a loss.

TY!

Re: Could use some home owners advice

I asked the same question! Here is the advise that was given to me. I found it really helpful
How to Buy a House

Re: Could use some home owners advice

That thread is awesome. Thanks for sharing! :)

Re: Could use some home owners advice

No problem.

I did a lot of looking on MLS first. I drove through neighorhoods and blocks to see if I liked the areas. I also asked about certain areas on here.... which was a fun thread! LOL

I got my REA, which now I am looking for a new one But she put us on Listing Book which has more information IMO.

We saw 6 condos and 16 houses so far. We have gone to Open Houses on our own with out the REA. Being that my DH has a second job, we look on Saturdays or weeknights when he is free.

I was able to get a pre-approval for a Mortgage from my bank. When we put a bid on a house, which we did not wind up getting our REA recommended talking to another Mortgage guy from Continental which we did and the interest rate he got was similar.

We are still looking for houses and it was scary at first. But I have been learning more and more as I go. What we want and don't want. What we can deal with fixing up later, or what has to be move in ready.

Good Luck! There is a lot of information on this Board. I "searched" different topics such as, household bills, remodeling cost, rugs, flooring.. etc.. so I knew what it would cost to do different projects in the house that we initially wanted to bid on so that I was prepared for the cost.

Re: Could use some home owners advice

I think the link Kim gives is great!

It's definitely important to know what you can afford/are comfortable paying. Once you are ready to start looking, get yourself preapproved. This will help you know what a bank will lend you. (Most of the time this amount is higher than what you're comfortable paying.) Knowing how much a bank will lend you helps to know the prices of homes you should be looking it. Good luck!