This is going to be the most exciting and stressful time of your life!! I was a real estate agent for a few years and I can tell ya a couple of things.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: You must get a private home inspection...even if you have city inspections and/or a VA inspection. The cost will typically range from $200-$500. This inspection would take place after an offer is accepted. You need your agent to write up the purchase agreement contingent on the home inspection. When we bought our first home we declined a private inspection because we had the false sense of security because we had a city inspection and a VA inspection. They found no major faults in the house. In the end it was a money pit that had major hidden defects that we spent tons of money we did not have, ended up in court with the seller, won the judgement, but never got paid. By having the sale contingent on your home inspection you have bargaining power. If the defects are found to be minor you have the option of re-negotiating the purchase price. If the defects are found to be major you have the option of backing out all together without losing your deposit.

2. Deposits-Many realtors will tell you to leave deposits ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. You do not have to leave a large deposit!! I have closed homes with as little as $1,000 deposit. Your agent can present your offer and if the seller likes what they see they will accept it regardless of the deposit amount. What is working in your favor is the slow home market. You can't ever tell if for some reason you can't purchase the house ie: loss of job and losing $1,000 is way better than $5,000.

3. Downpayments-Contrary to popular belief you do not have to have a huge downpayment. There are so many mortgage plans out that they can be tailored to meet your needs. You can also roll a portion of the closing costs into your mortgage. The purchase agreement can go something like this: The home you choose is listed at $150,000. You can offer $145,000 with seller paying all closing costs, essentially this will keep more money in your pocket and the seller will be getting his house sold for roughly $5,000 less than the listed price (which is a good deal). You can also offer more than the seller's drop dead price to cover your closing costs, for instance the seller has to have $150,000 to close the deal but you do not want to tie up your money in closing costs, you can then offer to pay $155,000 with seller paying all closing costs. It is much better to pay on $5,000 over the course of 30 years than it is to spend it up front when you know there will be a hundred different uses for that money when you get into the house. (It breaks down roughly like this-$5,000 over 30 years at 7% is roughly adding only $15.00 to your monthly payment). Doing it this way you are freeing up your available cash to have in case of emergencies.

4. PMI Insurance- This is basically an insurance plan through the mortgage company that guarantees them they will get paid. This is often required if you are not putting down a 20% deposit. This can be avoided by obtaining an 80/20 loan. What happens at this point is you have one mortgage that covers 80% of the purchase price (this would be the first mortgage) then you have a second one that covers the rest. You could save probably $100 or more a month this way because you would not be paying PMI insurance to the first mortgage company.

5. Points-Regardless of your credit you should not have to pay more than 2 points on your mortgage. If they tell you different go to another mortgage company or bank.

If you have any questions you can PM me! I hope you find your perfect home!!!

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