Buyer’s Guide

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BUYERS GUIDE

The Home Buyer’s Guide

A home is probably the biggest financial investment you’ll make in your life. Before you get started, do some homework. This handy Buyer’s Guide will show you some things to keep in mind as you’re hunting for that home of your dreams.

STEP 1

The Home Buyer’s Guide

How much house you can afford is largely dependent on how large a mortgage – basically, a home loan — you can handle. Start your research by using the simple mortgage calculators I have on my website to see whether you can afford to pay the monthly mortgage on the kinds of houses you have in mind.

You may even apply for a mortgage at a lender before you start looking for a home. This is called getting pre-qualified for a loan; it will tell you exactly how much you can afford and may make the closing process go faster.

But, remember that owning a home involves more than a monthly mortgage. You’ll also have to consider money you’ll need to have at hand when you make an offer, when you close on a home and on a monthly basis after the home is yours.

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STEP 2

Shop for a Home

House hunting can be both exciting and frustrating. Most homebuyers see roughly many houses before buying one. To make the search easier and faster, nearly half of all house hunters today begin by browsing for properties on the Internet, using web sites like this one. Please go to my home page and click on the “Search For Homes” link and you will have access to the same data as Realtors in the areas from Burbank to Thousand Oaks in Los Angeles County. For Ventura County Property information click on the other link “Here” on my homepage. This information is up-to-date and accurate. Other sites on the internet do not provide up-to-date data and lag behind my site.

STEP 3

Find a Real Estate Professional…That’s where I come in…

While you’re not required to use a real estate professional, it is a good idea. A professional has access to a network of contacts and can draw from extensive market knowledge to help pinpoint the right house for you quickly.

A professional also can help you structure your deal to save money, explain the advantages and disadvantages of different types of mortgages and guide you through the paperwork.

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STEP 4

Research Different Mortgages

There are a variety of mortgage types available today, each with advantages and disadvantages depending on how long you plan to live in the home, the financial marketplace and your income potential, among other things.

A fixed-rate mortgage is the most common. In a fixed-rate mortgage, your interest rate and payment stay the same for the life of the loan.


An adjustable-rate mortgage usually starts out at lower interest rates and lower monthly payments than fixed-rate mortgages, but your rate and monthly payments may rise and fall based on a financial index.