Check Your Credit

Be sure you check your credit before you start searching for a home. If you have bad credit, you will most likely need someone else to co-sign, or to put their name on the mortgage with you, unless you pay for your home in full cash.

For a conventional loan you will need a higher credit score typically around 660 or higher while an FHA loan will give you more wiggle room typically down to about a 580 score. Don’t give up if your score is lower than the required amount because there are also ways of increasing your score to get you where you need to be.

Look At Your Income

Also be sure you look at your income so you know just how much you can afford monthly, and yearly. Don’t spend everything you have all at once, be sure you have enough money left over for other payments and bills you may have.

Typically there is a 40% or higher ratio that mortgage lenders will be looking for but we suggest a bit lower so you still have money for other things. Being house poor doesn;t make for a happier life. It’s nice to own a home but it’s also nice to be able to enjoy going out, or buying some new clothes once in a while.

Get Preapproved For A Mortgage

To get preapproved for a mortgage, first you must visit a lender. The mortgage lender will look at things such as your credit reports, your employment history, and your income very closely and carefully. After that, they will figure out which loan program you qualify for, the maximum amount you can borrow, and the interest rates you will be offered.

It is important to get this done before you start looking for South Nashua houses for sale, so you know just how much you have to spend. You don’t want to start looking at houses that are above your reach as it will make the houses you can afford not look as appealing. Be realistic and make your budget work for you. You can always build equity and get the larger house next time if you can’t afford it the first time around.

Find The Right Real Estate Agent

Finding the right Real Estate Agent is important because they can help take some of the stress off of you when you are looking for your South Nashua dream home. Searching for and purchasing the right home takes a lot of time that you may not have, as well as a lot of work that you may just not want to deal with. An agent can deal with the time, and work while you sit back and relax, that is their job!

If you are looking to buy or sell a home, call Harmony Real Estate today at (603) 883-8840. One of our qualified agents will be more than happy to help you find your dream home.

Here are five things you should do when you are buying a home for the first time:

Decide on the location versus space when searching for a home!

When you are looking for your first home, be sure you decide on a location first. Sometimes the location of the house for sale can have a bigger impact on your life, versus the spaciousness of the home. If you find a big beautiful home in the country, but you’d prefer to be closer to the city sometimes you need to sacrifice a little bit of space to get what you want.

You can never change the location of your house but you could potentially add on or finish your basement.

The School District Will Affect Your Home Value

Before purchasing a home it is always good for you to look into the school district, even if you don’t have children. If it is a sought after school district with a high grade point average, people will be willing to pay more for you home when you do decide to sell it.

South Nashua homes for sale are located in the best school district within the city. The homes in South Nashua are highly sought-after, have the highest resale value and attract the wealthiest buyers.  

Put Some Money Away For Home Improvements

Home Improvements can be very expensive, and sometimes unexpected. There are a lot of things you can do by yourself, rather than hiring a company to complete the repairs in your home. Your house is your most valued asset so make sure to keep it in good repair.

Fixing up your home yourself will same you a ton of money and add sweat equity which equates to an added resale value of your South Nashua home for sale!

Don’t Overlook The Landscaping!

The exterior curb appeal is the first thing anyone will look at in regards to your home. Updates to the exterior of the home you decide to purchase can add up just as quickly as the interior improvements. If you don’t want to spend any money on the landscape, or you don’t have much to spend due to your budget try finding a home that already has the amenities you desire.

Make sure to take a good look at the exterior and evaluate the true  condition before you purchase a South Nashua home for sale.

Don’t Max Out Your Qualification Budget

If you try to use every last cent that you qualify for, odds are you will have a smaller number of options. If you are willing to come down in your price range, more options will open up for you once you purchase. This means you will have money left over for any renovations or decorating you’d like to do to make your new place truly feel like home.

You don’t want to feel like you are house poor. If you can’t ever go out for dinner or buy a pair of shoes will you truly be happy just living day to day? If you don’t overextend your budget ultimately you will be happier down the road.

Looking for your first home can be very nerve wracking, so don’t try to do it on your own. Our agents’ job a Harmony Real Estate is to take the stress off of you, and make purchasing a home a bit easier for you.  

Give our agents a call at Harmony Real Estate (603) 883-8840 for more information on buying a South Nashua home for sale. We would love to be instrumental in your new purchase.

Hiring a home inspector is a very important part of your home buying process. When you are choosing an inspector to check out your South Nashua home for you, be sure to ask them how much experience they have. You don’t want to hire someone with a poor inspection background because they may miss something very important!

Typically, an inspection report is 20 or more pages long. Most inspectors, and Real Estate agents think the buyer should use the inspection to generate a list of repairs that should be accomplished. If the seller is aware of these issues beforehand they should work on any major repairs before they sell their South Nashua home to make it more valuable. If the buyer doesn't like the results of an inspection report, they have the right to ask the owner to fix the items, keep it as is or exit the contract and look for a new home. Typically the buyer and the seller will come to an agreement on what repairs will be remedied and move toward a closing on their South Nashua home for sale.

What a buyer usually doesn’t always realize is that once they find a new home, they will have to pay for that home to be inspected as well. Inspections range from about $300-$500 and they are non-refundable. If there are problems with the home you want to purchase, you should decide how much those repairs will cost before you leave the contract. If yo can't come to a reasonable agreement with the seller it may be better to find a new South Nashua home for sale and pay for another inspection. However, you never know if the next home you find will have more issues than the previous one, or not.

When purchasing a home that is being sold to you by the owner, you need to remember that it is not a brand new home. Used homes that have been lived in will have some wear and tear on the home. If you are looking for something perfect, definitely consider looking into a brand new home. Instead of breaking a deal over repairs, it would make more sense to buy a home warranty in the event that something breaks. There are home warranties available for under $500! Some sellers may even be willing to pay for a home warranty instead of repairs.

Unfortunately, some home inspectors lack people skills, and fail to explain their findings properly. There have been some complaints about home inspectors who use verbiage in their reports such as “may in the future,” or “could potentially.” The words “may” and “potentially” mean that there is a possibility of something happening, not a guarantee. When people are getting houses inspected, they want to know exactly what is wrong, and what to do to fix it. What inspectors don’t seem to understand is that buyers take these statements as “ you’re house is falling apart” or “don’t buy this!”

To be sure a home inspector won’t kill your South Nashua deal, it's important that buyers and sellers use an experienced agent. Also, make sure you ask questions about the inspection. If they use words like “may” or “potentially” ask the inspector why they said that. Have them explain to you why they think something could go wrong with whatever object they stated, in the future. Be sure your agent shows up at the inspection to help you ask those needed questions.

The purpose of a home inspection is not to have the seller fix every single item in the contained report, that would be unreasonable, but more so to help the buyer see any huge issues that make the cost of the house go down. Buyers have the right to ask the sellers to fix something, but sellers also have the right to say no. There are always going to be a list of repairs that need to be fixed in your South Nashua home but the sellers are not going to be willing to fix every leaky faucet or toilet flange but more likely to fix a leaking roof or failed septic. It is more reasonable to understand this information about your South Nashua home for sale at the onset.

Don’t let the home inspector break your deal! Be sure that the home inspector and the buyers agent are present for you as a buyer to ask questions. They can help you understand things you don't understand about the home. It could be as simple as where a light switch may be, or how to turn on the lights to the pool or more complicated like finding the shut valves or changing the settings on your water heater. That way you don't worry about items that may not even be broken. 

If you are looking for more information on selling your South Nashua home or would like a list of homes for sale in South Nashua give our agents at Harmony Real Estate a call at (603) 883-8840. We are here to help you through your South Nashua home sale process!