Buy a Home: Get Ready to Buy a New Home
Thinking about buying a home? Your next step is to understand your price range and get pre-approved for a mortgage. Then you can evaluate neighborhoods and start searching.
This means you'll be ready to make an offer when you see a home that you like.
To get pre-approved for a mortgage,
- Get a credit report to see what rate you'll pay. Some cost $20 or so; this one's free.
- Use an online mortgage calculator to estimate your monthly mortgage payment.
- Contact a mortgage broker or lender. Here's our list of good ones.
- Expect to wait a few days, though it may take as little as 24 hours.
What you should know:
- A pre-approval letter shows sellers you're serious.
- You're not obligated to work with the firm that generates your pre-approval letter.
- The only cost of pre-approval is the credit report.
- A pre-qualification letter isn't the same thing: it's unverified by a credit report and carries less weight.
It's also a good idea to start collecting earnest money, or down payment. You'll need this money on hand within 48 hours of making an offer. Earnest money is typically 1% to 3% of the price of the home. You'll get it back if the deal falls through on a contingency.
Redfin has a list of recommended mortgage brokers or lenders, or you can always choose your own. Our recommendations are based on our experience only; we don't accept referral fees from third-parties. Here's our list of recommendations.
These sites can help.
- How expensive is it? Check our neighborhood pages (like Back Bay Real Estate).
- What's the local vibe? Find newspapers and blogs on our local sites.
- What are the trends? Read Sweet Digs, your local real estate blog.
- Can you walk to get a coffee? Check Walk Score.
If you want advice from other buyers or Redfin agents, visit Redfin Forums.
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