First Step To Take When You Decide To Buy A Home

Q: My husband and I are buying our first home.  Where will we get the best value for our money? Camille, Pennsauken, NJ

A: It’s smart to focus on getting the best value for your money but you have to make sure you don’t skip one of the most important steps in the home buying process.  Assuming you aren’t paying cash, your first step needs to be to get pre-approved for a mortgage. The pre-approval process will require examining both you and your husband’s credit profiles which will determine how much money you qualify to borrower from a lender which will determine the price range you can shop for a home in.  If you get pre-approved early, you can fix mistakes and minimize dings in your credit profile which will allow you to maximize your spending power when you buy your home by minimizing the interest rate you have to pay for your mortgage. Use your pre-approval to guide your home search strategy so you don’t waste time looking at homes that are out of your price range. Thanks for your question, Camille. 

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