First Time Home Buyers Assistance

Buying a home is exhilarating but it can also be a little stressful. Most first time home buyers find the home buying process intimidating at first because there are many decisions to be made and the lending process (if you plan on financing your purchase) can be a little unnerving.

Like any decisions that requires investing a large sum of money, home buyers need to do their due diligence to make sure the house they want to purchase is a good investment and that it will fit their needs for years to come.

Most first time home buyers have watched TV shows about buying a home, read some articles online and talked about it with friends and family so they have some sense of what to expect. However, every home buying experience is unique. To avoid making mistakes that could derail the home buying process or lead them to buying the wrong home, first time home buyers should get expert guidance from a qualified real estate professional.

Cornerstone Real Estate provides excellent real estate services to first time home buyers in the Charlotte NC area . Stephan Saillant, Broker and Realtor at Cornerstone Realty, is a first time home buyer specialist. He has earned the highly sought after Five Star Real Estate Agent award for Charlotte NC for many years in a row. You can reach him directly at (704) 837-4672 or by email .

At Cornerstone Realty, we can answer some of the following questions for you and guide you through the entire home buying process:

• How do I go about qualifying for a mortgage loan? What are the requirements to qualify? What should I expect? Can you recommend lenders?
• Are there programs to help me with my down payment and closing costs?
• How can I get additional information about a home so I can make a sound decision and not overpay for the home?

Guiding home buyers through the process of purchasing a home

At Cornerstone Realty of the Carolinas, we provide home buyers with expert guidance throughout the entire home buying process to help them find a great home with the best financial terms possible.

Buying a home is one of the best decisions you could ever take. The pride of ownership is the driving force behind people’s desire to own their home. Owning a home brings about a great sense of achievement in life and a feeling of stability and security. A home is a wealth builder, an investment for the future, an asset and a tax write off.

Financing your first home

Buying a home is a multi-step process. Each of the steps have to be completed successfully in order for a home buyer to become a homeowner. Because most first time home buyers lack knowledge about the process of getting a mortgage and purchasing a home, they are often unaware that there are up front costs that come with buying a home, specifically down payment and closing costs.

A down payment is the amount of personal funds a lender requires a home buyer to pay in order to get a mortgage loan. Unless you are using a 100% financing loan such as a USDA loan, you will need to come up with some cash to decrease default risk with your loan. Depending on the type of loan you select, the down payment can be as high as 20% of the purchase price and as low as 3.5% with a FHA insured loan.

Closing costs are settlement charges such as the loan origination fee (usually 1% of the purchase price), appraisal fee, home inspection fee, attorney’s fee, etc… Usually closing costs add up to be between 3.5% to 5% of the purchase price. When combining the down payment and closing costs, the upfront costs of buying a home will be at least 7.5% of the purchase price. So for example, if you are buying a $130,000 home, you will need to bring a minimum $9,750 of your own funds (if you are using a FHA loan) on or before closing on your home. For many first time home buyers, that’s a lot of money and it is often a road block to home ownership. But there is a way to have most, if not all of those costs paid for on your behalf by using city, state and federally sponsored down payment assistance programs.

Down payment assistance programs help first time home buyers with the upfront expense of purchasing a home by providing funds to pay for the down payment and closing costs. There are many programs to choose from, each with its specific requirements, limits and benefits. Cornerstone Realty Carolinas has realtors who provide their clients expert level guidance with down payment assistance programs. If you are interested in qualifying to receive free money to help you with the upfront costs of purchasing a home, call Cornerstone Realty Carolinas today at (704) 837-4672 to schedule an appointment.

Searching Charlotte homes for sale

For more than 85% of first time home buyers, the search for a home starts on the internet. You can find listings of homes for sale just about everywhere. However, if you are looking for the most up to date listings for sale and market information, only a Realtor® website like this one can display up to the minute changes in listing status (active, under contract, sold, expired, withdrawn). By registering on our website or contacting us so we can setup a specific search for you, you will be automatically notified when a new listing that fits your criteria becomes available.

It is really important in a competitive market like Charlotte’s market to be the first one to know about new listings. As a home buyer, you are competing with other home buyers who are also looking for a home to buy. A great home that is priced right usually goes under contract quickly. We can setup property alerts for you so you can be made aware of new listings on the markets minutes after they are listed. For further assistance, call our office today at (704) 837-4672 or fill out the contact form on this page to be contacted.