Financial and Lifestyle Resources for Vermont

Buying a home is complicated. Finding a home that meets your needs as well as your budget is a challenge to begin with. Then you will need to navigate the maze of visits, inspections, negotiations, and documents as you work toward the closing. Your real estate agent, mortgage originator, and lawyer can answer many of your questions and will help you through much of the process, but you’ll have a better chance of getting what you need (along with some additional perks) if you educate yourself on the process first.

Mortgage applications can seem overwhelming due to all the documents that are needed in the process. As a mortgage originator, I’m often asked by clients, “why do I need all that paperwork?” I assure them that the documents are needed to keep us both safe.

After many years of renting small apartments, my wife and I decided to take the plunge and buy our first house. As any new homeowners would, we have been nervously, excitedly, painting walls and undertaking little projects to make our home perfect for us, but the first big project now looms on the horizon—the heating system.

There are many things to consider when purchasing a home—location, school district, neighborhood, affordability, and type (single family vs. multifamily) just to mention a few. Once you’ve found your perfect home, you must choose the best mortgage type—fixed-rate or adjustable. And then you can decide whether to buy points.

If you’re in the market for a new home, it’s time to review your credit report. The information in your report helps your mortgage originator determine your creditworthiness (whether you’re likely to pay back money loaned to you).

When you finance your home, you have choices. You can go with a big-name bank or keep your money closer to home at your local credit union or bank. Bigger banks can leverage their resources to offer some compelling conveniences, like 24/7 support or simplified online processes, but they are not always the best choice. Local financial institutions can offer a more personalized and holistic experience simply because they are small and local.

As you plan to purchase a home, it’s important to keep in mind that you won’t just be paying the cost of the home. You will also be paying “closing costs,” which are all those fees associated with your real estate purchase. Closing costs on a mortgage may be paid by the seller but are most often paid by the buyer and are paid at closing, when you sit down at the closing to sign papers and the property title is transferred to you.

If you’re buying a house, you want to get the best deal possible, which means you want the lowest interest rates—the lower your interest rates are, the less you’ll pay over the life of the loan. Buying a house can take a while, though, and in the time it takes you to find the house and go through the buying process, interest rates could rise or fall significantly.