Renter to HomeOwner

Another month, another rent check in the drop box. A couple of years ago signing that lease and moving to a different city was such a milestone. After the months of job searching, it only took a few weeks to find this place and now this area really feels like home. Leaving the apartment complex and driving past the subdivision, where the owners have obviously spent the weekend decorating for the upcoming holidays, you decide it's time for a new chapter in your life, home ownership.

Where to start?

Pulling out your phone, at the next stoplight of course, you Google the average home sale around the apartment complex. It seems like the amount that all houses are these days but what does it mean? While getting some coffee at work, you chat with a coworker that was talking about recently buying his first house. Cornered, you ask him what he did and let him know you are only asking because no one talked about any of this in high school or college. From his incite, you find out you should get something called prequalified from a bank since you have an idea of the price. This is a shorter process that doesn’t consider your overall credit report, only income, debt and any assets. This will, however, give you an idea if the houses you drive past are in your price range. The lender can also discuss options for what mortgage may work the best for you. For a fee, and the true guarantee of the loan amount you will be able to obtain, get preapproved. This will take all credit history into consideration and give you the dollar value of what you will be approved to purchase.

Then what?

After that, you are instructed to call the realtor he used. She walked him through all steps of the process and responded very quickly to all his questions. After taking a picture of the business card he had in his wallet, you walk back to your cube and get excited about the future for the first time since you setup your office.