byAlma Abell

Chances are, you’ve already thought long and hard about your decision to buy a home. To help make the buying process that much easier and hassle-free, here are a few pointers from HGTV you might want to keep in mind:

• Don’t move around your money: Three to six months before you buy a home or apply for financing for your home, keep your money where it is. Don’t move it around too much. Lenders look at your credit history to see if you’re reliable with your payments or if you’re a policy risk. If they see you have a history of late payments, you might find it hard to qualify for a loan.

• Get your home loan preapproved first: A lot of prospective buyers shop around for homes first. When they finally find a good one, that’s when they apply for financing. However, that could backfire on buyers, especially if the lender covers less than the amount they expected. So it’s better if you fix your financing first. That way, you can shop with a clear idea of what your budget is instead of grappling with straws and estimates.

• Don’t go for biggest home you can find: That’s because real property rules mean that if you sell your home, it’s resale value is going to be pretty much dictated by all the other homes in the area. That means you’ll get so much less for what you paid for, especially if you agreed to pony up for the full freight.

• Know the real cost of buying home: No, it’s not just worrying about your mortgage. Owning a home means you’ll have to prepare for a slew of other costs and expenses. These include: home insurance fees, repairs and remodels, home owner dues, property taxes, your monthly bills and more. It’s necessary to make sure you’ve got enough to pay for all these. Having an emergency fund won’t hurt too. That way, if you ever lose your job or get into an accident that prevents you from working for months, you’ll have a safety net to keep from defaulting on your payments.

• Spend on a home inspection: Hire a pro to take a look at the property, top to bottom. Professional Houston Realtors, along with home inspectors, can advise you right away if something’s wrong or if everything’s great. It’s better to know what you’re getting into before you actually sign on the dotted line than to find out you’re saddled with a home that costs a mountain of costs to maintain.

So improve your buying chances. Start by putting these pointers into practice.

We have a team of highly trained Houston realtors at the Keller Williams Memorial. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell property, we’ll help you. Get in touch with us for more details.