7 Things First Time Home Buyers Must Be Aware Of in Frederick Maryland

FREDERICK, Md. - April 5, 2015 - PRLog -- Buying a home and being a first time home buyer can be a very exciting and rewarding experience.  It can also be a stressful process, filled with anxiety and uncertainty if you do not know what to expect.  The stress and anxiety can be eliminated completely with a little pre-planning, preparation and finding the right Frederick Realtor.  Here are seven tips for making your home buying process an enjoyable and rewarding experience with the outcome of getting the home you want for the best price in the time frame that works for you.

The very first thing that a new buyer will need to do is contact a lender to find out what their credit score and debt to income ratio is for mortgage qualification purposes.  This starts will filling out a loan application either online or in person with a loan officer.  There are many loan programs such as FHA and VA that only require a 620 credit score.  This is a very modest credit score so most people will qualify, unless they have had a bankruptcy within the past two years, current late payments over 30 days late or many open collection accounts that are showing up on your credit.  Your Frederick Realtor may direct you to a few lenders that they trust and work with.  This is a normal practice, but you are entitled to use any lender that you want to work with.

What Is The Right Loan Program?
Once your lender determines what your credit score is and your debt to income ratio is calculated you will need to figure out what loan program is right for you.  This is largely determined by how much money you have to put down or if you are a veteran and qualify for a no money down VA loan.  The most common loan programs are:

FHA – 3.5% down payment required
VA – $0 down payment required
Conventional – 20% down payment required
USDA – $0 down payment required (Usually requires that the property not be in a municipality, but not always)

What Are The Closing Costs?
Closing costs include your down payment and any additional transactional costs associated with your home purchase.  I will include a list below of most common closing costs for a home purchase in Frederick, MD:

Lender fees
Transfer taxes
Recordation fees
Insurance escrows
Tax escrows
Title company fees

As a rule of thumb, closing costs for a first time home buyer will be roughly 3% of the purchase price (not counting down payment.)  A good Frederick Realtor with exceptional negotiating skills will be able to negotiate all or most of your closing costs to be paid by the seller.  Many programs also allow closing costs to be a gift from an acceptable donor, such as a family member.

Are There Any Government Grants Available For the Down Payment?
Frederick County Home buyer Assistance Program (HAP)

The Frederick County Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP) administered by the Frederick County Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) helps local families with limited resources obtain their first home, by providing up to $7,000 in closing cost assistance.  The HAP Program is used in conjunction with state or federal first mortgage programs (USDA, FHA, CDA or VA).  Tim Brooks and the Brooks Group (http://Brooksgrouprealestate.com) can help answer any questions about this Frederick Maryland home buyer grant.

Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP)

The Maryland Mortgage Program provides significant support to homebuyers through competitive rate mortgage loans; down payment assistance and Partner Match Programs, helping Marylanders overcome upfront financial barriers associated with down payment and settlement expenses.  Homebuyers that are eligible for a Maryland Mortgage Program home loan are also eligible for a down payment assistance loan of up to $5,000.  Through the Community Partners Incentive Program (CPIP) MMP will match our Homebuyer Assistance Program up to a maximum of $2,500 when the homebuyer uses the State's Maryland Mortgage Program loan to purchase their home.

The Homeownership for Individuals with Disabilities Program is offered through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and is available statewide.  Learn more about Maryland Mortgage Programs and any other first time home buyer programs at Brooksgrouprealestate.com

What Documents Will You Need?
You will need to gather three primary documents for your loan officer.

These documents are:

Two most recent W-2 statements
Two most recent paystubs
Two most recent tax returns

If you are self employed you will need your two most recent tax returns and a current year profit and loss statement.  Veterans will need to order their certificate of eligibility.  Your Frederick Realtor or lender should be able to help you with this.

What Frederick Realtor Is Right For Me?
Not all Frederick Realtors are created equally.  It is your Realtor’s job to find you a property that fits your needs for the best price possible.  Unfortunately it is common for a less skilled or less motivated agent to simply wait around for their client to find homes on their own and then ask to see a property.  A bad agent simply acts as a door opener and little more.

Here at the Brooks Group we provide a full service.  The first step is a comprehensive buyer interview.  The Comprehensive buyer interview is the most important step because this is where we find out your precise needs and wants for your perfect property.  Many buyers are not even aware of their exact needs until they are taken through our interview.  Based upon your needs and wants we will perform a deep search of every real estate listing and house for sale on the market and then narrow that MLS search down to the top ten, top five and top three real estate listings.  Based on these initial choices we will see the top 3 and then 5 and so on until you have found the perfect Frederick MLS listings and homes for sale.  Our average client only looks at 5 properties before making an offer.  The purpose for this process is to be as efficient as possible and to see only the homes that meet your needs.  You will also be given MLS listings with regular updates being sent to you immediately as new Frederick real estate hits the market.  If you are interested in Frederick for sale by owner properties we can provide those too.

According to The Frederick MLS the average Frederick Realtor only negotiates approximately 1% off of the sales price.  Tim Brooks is a highly skilled negotiator and on average negotiates 5% off of the MLS list price for a Frederick home.  The best part about working with Tim Brooks as your Frederick Realtor is that the seller pays all real estate commissions.  For more information or free MLS access call Tim Brooks and the Brooks Group in Frederick, MD at 301-693-3333 or look us up on the web at http://brooksgrouprealestate.com