5 Tips for Getting Into That Dream Home

---

Filed under: Home Buying Tips

---

Continued great news for all of you out there thinking about buying or refinancing: Mortgage rates continue to go down! In fact, during the last week of September, the average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage reached the lowest point since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s!

This means that these incredibly low rates combined with the still very attractive home prices make buying your dream home more affordable now than at almost any point in history.

Now, if you really want to take advantage of this opportunity (and why wouldn’t you), here are five things to do as soon as possible:

• Talk to your real estate sales professional immediately and schedule appointments to look at as many homes as possible as soon as possible.  Attend a few open houses.
• Get in contact with a loan officer who can help you determine your price range.  The loan officer can also pre-approve you for a loan so you will be ready to move forward as soon as you find that “dream” home.
• Continue communication with your agent.  They are a really good resource for other housing related services.  They may also have personnel available to help you immediately with any of your needs.
• Have a conversation with your spouse and family members. Sit down with them and have an in-depth discussion about each family member’s wants and needs. REMEMBER, this market is quickly and constantly changing, so being able to make a quick decision may impact your ability to get the home you love and a great rate on your loan.
• Finally, once your decision at home has been made, exercise the expertise of your sales agent. They can definitely help in streamlining the closing, giving you excellent advice, and providing all the services required to complete this important decision!

One last thought for you to think about…

As one writer put it, “Refi madness is smoking hot!” Reacting to record low mortgage rates, the number of refinance applications reached levels last week that had not been seen in 3 1/2 years.   The Mortgage Bankers Association index of refinance applications leaped, jumped, bounded 20% last week compared to the week before.

---