I lived in Los Angeles for 12 years paying over $ 150,000 in rent. That was money he was never going to get back. If you had a home, you could have transferred that $ 150,000 of equity into a new purchase. My fiancee finally realized that renting was the worst thing we could do financially, so we committed to buying a new home. To determine how much we could afford to spend, where we could spend it, and how much we would need as a down payment, we had to search the web to learn about the entire home buying process, from mortgage basics to appraisal. Dear. Below are the top 10 links we consider most important to first-time home buyers when looking for a first home.

Mortgage Basics

If you’ve never bought a home before, you should start here. There are many documents that you will need to compile during the closing process. Additionally, there are many questions you should ask prospective lenders and brokers throughout the process. For example, if you are self-employed and your gross income is much less than your adjusted gross taxes, by half a point to one point more in your interest rate, you can get an established loan with little or no documentation. If you do not apply for this first from a lender, you will not be allowed to offer an established loan once they have viewed your financial information (i.e. taxes, bank statements, etc.). Also, unless you are already a home buying expert, I 100% recommend that you use a Real Estate Buyers Agent, even if it is just for negotiation. It cost him nothing. The sale commission will be divided between your buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent.

bankrate.com/brm/green/mtg/basics-toc.asp

Buy your credit score

You’re completely in the dark if you don’t know the 3 Fico scores. There are other credit rating systems, but Fico is the most popular. This is obligatory.

myfico.com

Free credit report

You can get your credit report for free once a year at all three credit reporting agencies. There are many websites that will make it look like you can get your report for free, but they will subscribe to a trial service. This site is the only truly free site. If you bought your 3 Fico Scores, you will not need to visit this site.

annualcreditreport.com

Online brokers

You can shop online for a loan from an Online Discount Mortgage Broker. If you make all of your mortgage purchases within 2 weeks, it will have the least impact on your credit score, but in general, if a bank checks your credit score for a mortgage, it is not supposed to affect your credit score. To get the best rate and sometimes even closing on your loan, you will need all the help you can get. Working with one broker, even several, will create the best chance of getting the rate, the down payment, or a loan to close.

eloan.com

lendingtree.com

Raw statistics on most cities

“Where should I live?” It is probably the most important question you could ask yourself. The cost of housing, culture and traffic are things that could affect your decisions. These links provide raw statistics on many of the factors that could influence your decision.

bestplaces.net/Default.aspx

money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2007/index.html

Search for houses, condos, real estate

These websites are extremely helpful in identifying potential households. The first two have a customizable search engine, allowing you to add anything from hardwood floors to a hot tub to your search.

ziprealty.com

realtor.com

newhomeguide.com

Appraisal estimates

Last but not least, once you have identified a list of potential homes to buy, you can obtain an unofficial appraisal, as well as the previous year’s tax appraisal, to help you find a bargain price.

zillow.com

Good hunting.