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Springtime Home Buying Season Tips

Here are three tips on what to do before you take the big plunge into home ownership this spring. First off, pay off your other debts first: Many home buyers are so consumed with the process of purchasing a new home that they forget about the debts that they already carry on their credit cards and other loans. These other debts often carry significantly high interest rates, and should probably be taken care of before the borrower takes on another large debt that a mortgage will most certainly present. If at all possible, pay off your other debts before you get deep into the home buying process.

The next tip should be a no-brainer: Use the Internet! The world wide web is a great place to start when you`re looking for a home. Not only can you often get a look at new or other homes from the comfort of your current residence, but you can also get helpful information on the neighborhood that your home-of-interest is located in. Certain web sites will be able to tell you what kind of economic class your potential neighbors are in, as well as the quality of schools in the area, crime rates, and other important tidbits of information. You can also see how much homes in your area of interest were sold for recently.

Finally for this article, you should determine how much you can afford. This one is also a no-brainer, but many fail to think of it. A lot of people aim high for homes at high prices with dreams in their heads, but aren`t basing this on their actual financial standing, loans, debts, savings and all. The rule of thumb that most home buyers go by is that your annual mortgage payments along with the taxes and homeowner`s insurance should not be more than 28% of your gross annual income. Of course, you should also make sure that you have enough for a down payment as well as for closing costs, which can be up to 5% of the home`s value.