Are You Ready To Make An Offer To Buy A Home?
October 29, 2024
How to get started? In the early stages, establishing your budget and how much work you need to do on your credit is key. But once you have gotten past the initial phase of that planning you’ll want to consider the house itself and what you want from it.
You can get started by writing down your dream home’s must-have features. What size house do you want? How many bedrooms?
Do you need to be near schools, childcare, or major interstates? Separate your non-negotiables from what you feel more comfortable negotiating or haggling over.
Research the market you want to buy in. Consider analyzing recent residential real estate sales of similar properties in the area to determine a reasonable value for the home you're interested in. Online resources like Zillow and Realtor.com can be helpful.
Key Factors Before You Make An Offer To Buy With An FHA Mortgage
Ask yourself the following questions before you approach a home seller.
Is the home I want within my price range, and how much more or less is the sale price than the pre-approval amount?
What’s the first impression of the condition of the property? Does it look like it needs work, or is it pristine and in excellent condition?
If you haven’t decided on a specific property type, do the homes you have seen to date lack something important? For many borrowers, issues that seem minor early on become major headaches later, depending on the problems.
Your First Offer
It’s easy at first to consider your offer to the seller as your “best offer,” but real estate negotiations aren’t always that simple. Consider your initial offer as an opening statement.
That may lead to negotiation with the seller, but doing so is worth the hassle. According to many sources, “Flexibility is key.” Buyers go into the process willing to compromise on some parts of the home-buying process to make the sale more attractive to the seller.
Know your limits and be prepared to walk away if the deal starts to become unreasonable. That said, know WHEN and HOW you are legally permitted to walk away before you make any offer.

FHA Loan Articles
November 26, 2024
Thinking about buying a home? One of the first things you'll want to consider doing is filling out forms to be pre-approved for your FHA mortgage. This means a lender takes a look at your finances to figure out how much they're willing to loan you. It's a smart move, but you might be wondering: "Will applying for pre-approval hurt my credit score?"
November 25, 2024FHA mortgages include a refinance option that allows you to pull equity from your home in cash. The FHA cash-out refinance loan allows the borrower to take the difference between what remains to be paid on the home and the amount of equity built up.
The FHA loan program has some competition in this area, but how do your other government-backed refinance loan options measure up?
November 21, 2024The dream of homeownership is with some from a young age. But in an uncertain housing market, some grapple with the question: Is buying a home the right move for me?
While renting offers relocation flexibility and lower upfront costs, homeownership provides a wealth of financial and personal benefits.
November 20, 2024Refinancing your mortgage offers a way to cash in on your home equity, potentially reduce your interest rate, or modify your loan term. Borrowers ready to consider have options including FHA loans and conventional loans.
While both provide avenues for refinancing, each loan type may be best for specific needs and financial circumstances. What are the differences between FHA and conventional refinance options?
November 14, 2024The home you want to buy might seem perfect, or it may have a few flaws that are acceptable in the grand scheme of things. But what about issues you can’t spot just by walking through the property a few times? A home inspection provides an unbiased, expert assessment of the property's condition, uncovering potential issues that might not be noticeable to the untrained observer.