Six Helpful Tips To Help Save First-time Home-buyers in Lethbridge Alberta Canada Money… And Anxiety! Even if you already own a home in Lethbridge these tips can be helpful when you are looking to buuy your next Lethbridge home.

With interest rates hovering around their thirty year lows, a multitude of flexible and low cost loan programs are available, as well as a wide variety of assistance programs that can help virtually anybody experience the joy of home ownership.

In short, the economic environment simply couldn’t be better to buy your first home in Lethbridge Alberta Canada. However, if you have always been a renter, then you probably aren’t as well informed of the intimate processes of obtaining a home mortgage as you’d like to be. There are many great benifits to being a homeowner as opposed to just renting a home in Lethbridge.

To guide you through this exciting but often confusing time, this report details six tips that will help make your purchase of Lethbridge property for sale a much smoother experience, save you money and eliminate your anxieties. Isn't that what everyone wants, to save money and reduce or eliminate anxieties? I know I do!

Get Pre-qualified Before Starting Your Search Before you begin your home search in the Lethbridge Alberta Canada real estate market, before you make one single decision regarding a home purchase, get pre-qualified by a mortgage professional. Sometimes is to good to go to more then one mortgage professional when looking to purchase Lethbridge property for sale.

Pre-qualification is free and will give you a definite advantage in the buying process.

During the evaluation stage, it will clarify your financial situation, indicating how much home you can afford. Letting you know what kind of price range that you can afford will make the Lethbridge real estate market easier to handle and less overwhelming when there are so many Lethbridge properties for sale.

You’ll also know exactly how much home you can afford, further clarifying your search. Pre-qualification will also give you a step up on your competition. This will come in quite handy if you put in an offer and there is a competing offer on the same property. You will know exactly how far in the price war you can go.

Home-buyers that are pre-qualified have increased leverage with Realtors and sellers, in the Lethbridge Alberta Canada real estate world, over buyers who are not. Essentially, a pre-qualified buyer becomes a "cash" buyer making it easier for you to buy a home in Lethbridge.





Don’t Become Fixated On The Interest Rate Alone! Be careful! The lowest interest rate does not always translate to the best deal. Look at the loan programs that are being offered, not just the rate.

There are several factors that have to be taken into account when evaluating programs: the loan type (fixed or adjustable), the loan term (15 year or 30 year), the rate and the down payment requirement.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage’s (ARM’s) are typically very low at the beginning but can escalate quickly.

These are good for short-term purchases, but long-term mortgage holders are typically better off with a fixed rate. If you can afford it, you may consider a fifteen-year mortgage.

Typically the monthly payments are only 20% higher, and you cut off half the duration of your loan. Additionally, your credit will play a big part in what program will be offered to you. "A" paper, lender lingo for an applicant who has perfect credit, may find a 6.5% rate with only 10% down. But if you have some credit history problems, sometimes referred to as "B" or "C" paper, you may find that to receive the prime rate, you need 20% down. It is always a good idea to shop around when looking for a mortgage for a Lethbridge property for sale. Don't be scared of all the options that there are out there, just look for the mortgage provider that is going to be the best fit for you and your needs.

Clean Up Your Credit
By getting pre-qualified, you will be made aware of any potential credit problems in your credit history. Don’t despair if the credit report is not stellar.

Even if an incident cannot be taken off the report, by knowing the background of your financial history, your lender may be able to put your financial situation in a better light when submitting the actual loan application.

Review your credit report carefully. It is very common for non-payments to be listed that are not even yours. Your mortgage professional will help you address problems showing up on the credit report.

Many times, a simple letter to the creditor explaining the circumstances at the time of the incident will rectify the situation. However this may take a few months, so start early.

Get A Realtor®
As a first time home-buyer in Lethbridge Alberta Canada, the biggest mistake you can make is believing that you can save money if you do not use a Realtor.

Although the seller pays the commissions, some listing agents will tell you they can represent both you and the seller fairly. While in some cases this may certainly be true, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Get a Lethbridge real estate agent that represents your interests solely. A buyer agent will make sure the home is inspected properly, do diligence on any hidden discovery and more times than not, the money they save you on negotiating the price of your new Lethbridge home will more than off-set any reduction in price due to the commissions not being paid by the seller. Remember that a buyer agent is always on your side and will work to make sure that you are getting everything that you want in your Lethbridge home.

What Do You Want In Your Lethbridge Alberta Canada Home?
There will be many decisions as you start this process. Your Realtor will take you to several different homes on the Lethbridge Alberta Canada real estate market. Some you will like; some you won’t, but most will land somewhere in between. this process will help you narrow down your choices until you find a couple really good homes in Lethbridge that you can see yourself living in.

"You love this home except it doesn’t have…" or "That home would be perfect if it only had…" will be common phrases during this process.

Decide now what features you feel are "necessities" in a home and which features are items that would be "nice to have." This list will no doubt change the farther along you go, but the list will be extremely useful as you begin to look at homes. It will also be useful to the Realtor so he can better qualify the homes that he shows you.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Lethbridge Alberta Canada real estate. For complete information about the Lethbridge Alberta Canada real estate market including current Lethbridge property for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Lethbridge Alberta Canada real estate. So please feel free to contact me with any of your mortgage questions and I will me more than glad to answer your questions. Call me on my cell at 1.403.795.7777 or email me at info@courtneyatkinson.ca.