The single thing you can do in advance that will help facilitate the process of
buying a new home is to have your financing process started. There are
numerous benefits to being pre-qualified but the main one is to know what
price range of homes to be looking for. Being pre-qualified also communicates to the seller that
you are making a serious offer and are ready to purchase.
The process with your loan officer can be challenging so I encourage you to
interview several different financial institutions and find someone you are
very comfortable working with. They will want to know a lot of information
so it will be helpful if you are prepared prior to your visit. There is a
good chance they will want to see such things as prior years tax statements,
copies of your W-2’s, current pay stubs, long-term debt information, and
current bank statements.
The loan officer will provide you with lots of information. One of the most
important will be a Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs. This is a sheet
that tells you about the costs you will incur during the closing process.
Many of these are confusing so I encourage you to ask lots of questions and
take a look at Explaining Closing Costs.
You will also find my link to Financial Calculators helpful.
If you need assistance in locating a loan officer I will be glad to provide you with a
list of those here in Kerrville.