Who Else Is Ready To Buy A Home In Oregon?

For most people the decision to buy a home in Oregon is the biggest financial decision they will ever make. So first and foremost you should be prepared. Below is a guide line for anyone thinking about, or is ready to buy an Oregon home.

Figure Out What You Can Afford
A quick and dirty way to find out what the lenders will say you can afford is to do the following:
Divide you gross monthly income by 2. Next, subtract any debt payments. (Debt payments do not include utilities, cell phones, rent, etc.) Now you have a maximum rough figure of what your monthly payment including taxes and insurance could be.

Next I would play with this calculator to see how much of a home the payment buys you.

Finally I would sit down and add up all of your monthly bills. Including groceries, entertainment, and miscellaneous. Are you comfortable with the new mortgage payment plus your monthly bills? If not play with the calculator again to see what a payment that you are comfortable with buys you.

Are you willing to push the envelope when you buy a home in Oregon? Sometimes you may have to do so due to the home prices in your area. You may have to go with out the dinners out, a vacation or two. You may need to pinch the pennies, cut coupons, and shop at outlet stores. But the question you need to ask your self is “Is it worth it?”. My answer is and always has been YES.

The tax benefits, appreciation gained, steady housing payments, and the freedom to do what ever you like with your home, as well as the personal stability is well worth the sacrifice for a few years to buy a home in Oregon.

Get A Copy Of Your Credit Report
I recently read that over 79% of consumer credit reports have errors. The error could range from something as minor as the misspelling of your name to bankruptcies that don’t even belong to you.

You should check your credit report at least once a year. Pulling your own credit report does not have an adverse affect on your credit. If there are errors on your credit report you should get them corrected immediately. I highly recommend that you pull a tri-merge credit report which has all three of the major credit bureaus on it. Also keep in mind that your loan officer will still need to pull their own credit report.

If your credit has some major issues and you do not want to fix the problems your self or simply do not have the time you may want to check out this credit repair agency.

Get Your Documents in Order
When you buy a home you may need to have any or all of the following:
Drivers license, ID card, Green Card
Last 2 pay stubs.
Last 2 years of W-2’s.
Last 3 months of bank statements.
Current statement of 401K, IRA, stocks, bonds, etc.
Copy of bankruptcy papers.
Copy of divorce decree.
Copies of award letters for Social Security, Pension, or other retirement plans.
Copies of canceled rent checks. (do not get these from your bank unless asked for them)
Statements to prove zero balance on any debt that has been paid off but is still showing a balance on credit report.
If you have student loans that are in deferment: you will need proof as to how long they will be in deferment. Some lenders will still require that they be included in your debt to income ratios so you will need a letter stating how much payments will be.
If self employed:
Last 3 years of tax returns.
Current profit and loss statement.
Letter from CPA stating how long you have been in business.

Get Pre-Qualified
Pre-qualifications are fast and easy and can be done over the phone in just a few minutes. Getting pre-qualified will let you know what price range you should be looking in to buy a home. It will save both you and your Realtor a lot of time.

Here are the standard questions you will be asked when getting pre-qualified to buy a home:

Are you a first time home buyer?
Do you have a down payment?
If so how much, and where is it coming from?
What is your gross monthly income?
Do you have any other sources of income?
Where do you work?
How long have you been there?
How is your credit?
What are your monthly debt payments?(This does not include utilities, rent, cell phone, etc.)
Are there any credit issues I should know about?
Is there a co-borrower?
If so same questions as above.
How much of a monthly payment do you want or can afford?
What type of home do you want to buy? (stick built, manufactured home, multi-family, condo, new construction)
Is there any interest rate or type of loan you have seen that you liked or are interested in?
Why do you want to buy a home?

Get Pre-Approved
A pre-approval is the lender stating that they will loan you the money. Most approvals are conditional. Meaning that they will loan you the money based upon an acceptable appraisal, any additional documents requested are provided, proof you have paid your rent or housing payments on time, etc.

Getting pre-approved will cost you a credit report which can run from $18 to $36. In some cases there may be an application fee which can run from $50 to $350. I do not charge an application fee and my credit report fee is only $18.

A pre-approval normally consists of you meeting with the loan officer. Or if you are doing your loan over the internet you will be faxing and mailing documents back and forth. There should also be some fact finding to find out which home loan will suit you best. The loan officer puts everything together and submits it for approval. Approvals can take an hour up to several days.

Buy Home
Once you are pre-approved or even after the pre-qualification you should begin your search for homes that are in your price range. If you know a real estate agent go for it. If not ask your loan officer for a referral. I highly recommend you use a real estate agent when looking for a home to buy in Oregon.

When buying a home in Oregon, a real estate agent does not cost you anything. Plus they have access to the MLS which is a database of all the homes for sale with other Realtors

Oregon residents ready to buy a home and for a FREE pre-qualification click here on Buy Home In Oregon

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