Rossi Real Estate Services LLC
Rossi Real Estate Services LLC, Rossi Real Estate Services LLCPhone: (518) 598-7711
Email: [email protected]

Checklist for buying a house: What to do first

by Rossi Real Estate Services LLC 08/11/2024

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of home buying, it can be helpful to create a checklist for buying a house. Using a checklist can help you right from the beginning, since there are several important steps to take before you even begin your home search, like securing a mortgage lender.

To help get you started, here is a checklist for preparing to buy your first home:


Determine your debt to income ratio (DTI)

Knowing your own financial situation is crucial to a successful buying experience. Mortgage lenders offer different loan options affecting your ongoing mortgage payments, and it’s easier to compare the choices when you know how much you can comfortably afford.

You may also find new opportunities when examining your finances, like if you qualify for a lower interest rate because of a high credit score.

The best first step in this direction is to find out your debt to income ratio, or DTI. This will help you determine how much you can afford to pay monthly for your mortgage and other property-related expenses.

A simple formula for DTI is: gross monthly income / monthly expenses = DTI


Save for a down payment

The down payment is one of the major expenses you’ll encounter when buying a home. The down payment for your mortgage loan helps determine how much money you end up borrowing and paying back, including the interest rates.

While larger down payments have advantages, some mortgage lenders allow as low as 2% of the purchase price.


Hire a real estate agent

Real estate agents can help you navigate the real estate market and guide you through the home buying process. It’s helpful to find a buyer’s agent who specializes in representing clients wanting to buy rather than sell.

Not only can they help you with house hunting and finding your dream home, they can assist you with all the paperwork involved in the home buying process.


Get mortgage preapproval

By getting a preapproval letter from your mortgage lender, you can show sellers you’re a qualified and motivated buyer. It also secures your loan amount based on a detailed examination of your current financial situation, including credit score and report, investment account statements and income.

Taking care of these important tasks before you begin searching for a new home will help make the rest of the process smoother and quicker. Keep these steps in mind if you want to take the next step towards becoming a homeowner.

About the Author
Author

Rossi Real Estate Services LLC

Rossi Real Estate Services LLC is a boutique real estate brokerage firm that provides close personal attention to buyers and sellers in the Capital Region and surrounding areas. “Typical” is not a word that clients use to describe Rossi Real Estate's approach to home buying and selling.  Building upon years of experience, Rossi Real Estate employs creative marketing approaches, combined with a vast network, to quickly sell homes.  By creating home floor plans, professional photography, and online marketing videos, Rossi Real Estate is able to depict home layouts and professional marketing to potential buyers before stepping foot in your home; this saves the seller valuable time by attracting only those buyers who have greater interest in the home. Additionally, by employing targeted online marketing, Rossi Real Estate targets buyers searching for homes just like yours.  

Joe Rossi, the Principal Broker at Rossi Real Estate, builds upon over 12 years real estate experience in every transaction. Joe zealously advocates for his clients by combining his diverse background in law, finance, complex negotiation, and management, with compassion and exemplary communication skills creates.  He explains transaction details and guides his clients through every step of the buying and selling experience.  Furthermore, Joe listens to his clients’ wants and needs.  In a recent transaction, the buyer profusely thanked Joe, stating he was, “[T]he only one in the transaction that was capable of communicating with the sellers in a way that ensured we were able to close on our dream home”. 

Our real estate practice includes leading professionals, all of which are NYS Licensed Real Estate Sales Associates: Joseph R. Rossi, Ryan Hart, & Dustin Cogswell. Their experience includes work at a fortune 100 company, military operations, and technical recruiting.

If you're looking for a real estate broker who goes above and beyond the industry, who genuinely cares about their clients, and who will drive results, contact Rossi Real Estate Services LLC today.

The Stuff our attorneys make us include...

In accordance with Real Property Law §442-H, Rossi Real Estate Services LLC implemented a Standardized Operating Procedure governing client engagement. As such, prior to any engagement, Broker:

1. Requires a buyer to produce identification if the identity of the buyer is not readily known through a personal relationship with the broker or licensed sales person;

2. Requires an exclusive agency agreement (i.e. exclusive broker agreement) prior to engagement with any buyer;

3. Does not require pre-approval for a mortgage loan; however, a pre-qualification letter for a mortgage loan or, for cash buyers, proof of funds is required.

Although Broker may not require certain information, a seller of real estate may require this information prior to showing the property and/or as part of any purchase offer.