How to Get Assistance to Buy a House

With the housing market being a buyers market- now is the time to buy. Sure- easier said than done. Or is it? Read this article for useful tips on how to get assistance to buy your first home!

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Internet
• Loan Officer
• Homebuyer Seminar
• Realtor
• Patience

1. What you should always do prior to even considering buying a home is to meet with a local lender. By meeting with a local lender, you'll find what price range you qualify for, possible interest rate you can get, and most importantly: what types of programs are out there.

2. Once you have established what price range are you qualified to buy a house at, you should sign up right away for a Homebuyer's Seminar. At the seminar, it will cover everything from your credit score, money management, foreclosures and short sales, as well as types of assistance programs are currently out there.

3. Most assistance programs out there require you to take a Homebuyer Seminar in the first place, anyway. So be sure to ask any question you have while there. Every State will vary greatly on what types of assistance are out there. Almost every County should have some type of assistance program available, and most large bank corporations all have their own assistance programs for those who need it.

4. Right now, with the housing market being a buyers market, First Time Homebuyers have the greater edge. Many of the assistance programs are tailored to First Time Homebuyers, people of color, and income. You can possibly be qualified for a program that offers you $60,000 to live in a certain area. Or a program that is more general and will provide you with $3,000 in closing cost and down payment assistance. This is not a scam- it's real! I've done it! Most of these programs will only have to be re-paid when you sell your home, so make sure to not just grab all the assistance you can. Only take what you need to get in your home for as cheap as possible.
   
   Good Luck!

Tips & Warnings

• Lender: Loan officer
• First Time Homebuyer: A person who is buying a home for the first time or have not owned or been on a title of another dwelling for three years.
• Homebuyer Seminar: You can sign up for a home buying seminar and find one on-line by either putting it to a search engine or going to your County's website where they will have a certified Homebuyer Seminar you can simply sign up with. They range from $30-$50.
• Be sure to work with a seasoned Lender who will know all the available assistance programs out there today. To get the best deal- make sure they know of the programs or have a team on hand who knows them.
• Be careful not to just take a loan with a big rate. As of 01/23/2009- MY rate for my home loan was 5.5%. Of course yours will vary as the rates change daily. Lock in your rate when you think it's a good deal.
• Most large Banks will have a full range of services available for you that may be a good perk. The services will include a Realtor who works along side that bank. The good thing with working with one of their Realtor's will be that you won't get charged an Administrative Fee for your closing costs (rounding off around $200-$400) and they sometimes have a program where your water heater and furnace will be insured for life. Meaning: if your water heater or furnace stops working- it can be fixed/replaced for free.