In the Eyes of a First Time Home Buyer- House Hunting

I am 23. And I am buying a home. *honestly never thought I'd be saying that statement*

I am not married, I do not have children or pets- although I do plan on getting a dog once I buy a house- but other than that, this home will only be inhabited by me. I am searching for a 3 bedroom, 1.5-2 bathroom house with a budget of $150,000.

I work in real estate, but honestly I am not that knowledgeable on the home buying process. I am the marketing and listing coordinator for Homestead & Co in Edmond. Once a property goes under contract I am finished working with that listing so I am a pro regarding pre-contact matters, but post-contract I do not know a whole lot- probably just like many of you.

I have decided to blog about the entire process as a first time home buyer. Every question and concern I have, every disappointment I encounter, every victory I attain- I am going to disclose to you all so that whenever you decide to buy your first home you can have someone to reference.

I seriously have so many questions. Personally, I hate bugging people- I don't want to be a burden to them- so it is difficult for me to remember that my agent is working for me. They do not get paid unless I buy a house so when they say they want to help me whenever I ask they actually mean it! A dedicated real estate agent means it when they tell you to call them up every time you want to see a home, every time you have a question, and every time you need any guidance in searching for a home.

Searching for a home is actually so much harder than I thought BUT I thankfully have an agent who is working for me which has been a God send. I thought the home buying process consisted of me looking at listings online, have my agent set up showings, and after 5 showings I would find the house I wanted to make an offer on.

......yeah, no that is not how it is going for me.

Well here I am, 5 houses in, and personally I feel very discouraged because I have not fallen in love with any houses I have looked at. I haven't even fallen in like with any of these houses because pictures can be so deceiving yall!

I am SO picky. I want x, y, and z but I have a budget of $150,000. I know it is possible, but impatience is setting in. Luckily I started my search with plenty of time to look for my perfect home. I technically do not HAVE to have a house until June, and boy am I happy I started looking in January because I feel like my pickiness is going to prolong the process for me.

So, I highly recommend starting your search before you think you need to.

Like I said, I am 5 houses into my search. Truthfully, I have found aspects about each home that I do like, however, my features I liked did not outweigh the features I did not like.

I am going on more showing this week. So far I have 2 more scheduled and after those I will update you all again on where I am at in the process and the hurdles I have had to overcome to reach the point at which I will be at.

xx
mads

Conventional Loan Limits Rise

What is a conforming loan? A conforming loan is a type of loan that adheres to particular guidelines that were put in place by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The baseline for the 2018 Conforming Loan is increasing by $29,000 to $453,100 from $424,100 in 2017. We must remember that this is just a baseline! When it comes to locations that have a more pricy real estate market, like NYC or San Francisco, $679, 6500 is the cap for a single-family home loan. 

However, it is still possible for an individual to receive a mortgage loan that is more than the 2018 baseline- there are options! This is where the term "jumbo" mortgage product comes from- from a home loan that outshines the limits that have been put in place by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. When it comes to qualifying for a jumbo loan, the jumps and hurdles are typically more difficult to overcome due to the presence of high risk. 

Source (s):

View 2018 Conventional / Conforming Loan Limits by County. (n.d.). Retrieved December 18, 2017, from http://www.loanlimits.org/conforming/