BEFORE YOU BUY

Getting your paperwork and finances in order before you buy is key to a successful home purchase. Once you are ready to buy, it typically takes 3-5 months to identify a place you want to call home.  Being organized means being competitive in a tight market. 

A year to six months before you buy you'll want to:

• Check all three of your credit reports and clear up any incorrect information. You are entitled to free reports from all three agencies once a year.  visit https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action to get your reports.
• Pay off any credit card debt.
• Save, save, save.  You've probably been saving for that downpayment...now is the time to put just a little more away.  It is good to have padding in case you need to put more money down, need after closing cash for a co-op board, or want to do minor renovations upon move-in.

Six months to three months before you buy you'll want to:

• Make sure you have easy access to all your online bank statements and retirement accounts
• Begin researching where you want to live
• Ask friends for recommendations for a good broker to use

Three months before you buy you'll want to:

•  Have any gifts you'll be receiving deposited into your account
• Contact your real estate broker to start your search
• Contact a mortgage broker to get you pre-approved
• Identify an attorney you want to use for your transaction
• For co-op purchases, begin thinking about who you'll use as personal references