Financial advice for the new home buyer

My family’s secret for first time home buyers is to put down 20% for your down payment.

Your initial principle is lower, also affecting the interest you have to pay, but the banks also give you a better rate for your immediate show of good faith with your investment.

In reality 30% down earns you the banks’ best rates.

Doing this lowers your monthly payments, and if you keep your mortgage and associated fees at the same rate of local housing rates, that means no matter what you do, so long as you can make rent, will never lose your home.

It assures a level of safety and security on your first true investment and saves America endless heartbreak and loss of serious capital.

An investment like this also takes up less resources on your credit, allowing you more opportunity in the future.

If you’re a parent, you’ll want to to get your cosignee’s payments at 75% of the local market, because if your cosigner cannot make payments, and you have to take the responsibility of those payments lest you lose the investment altogether, and you can only report 75% of the rent you charge on income property, means you don’t need to provide a source of income to ensure the payments on that investment.
The parent can rent the property, keep the asset within the family, without any additional burden to personal finances.

The difference between your mortgage and the local housing is what affects your ability to loan, and any investment that incurs more as a liability than it can potentially as an asset, must be accounted for with assurance of payment.

I believe all first homeowners should be shared with prudent financial considerations to allow for the highest opportunity possible without also accepting incredible risk.

For those looking to get their foot in the door, the house itself is not your first step, securing your loan is.

If you truly want to be successful in finance, understand that you will need help from professionals along the way.

Your banker needs to be your trusted ally, so make sure you trust them to at least follow a minimum level of ethics. Trust your feelings Padawan, and if anything is amiss, there is nothing wrong with ensuring alternative financial institutions just in case.
Learn the language of finance, there is much opportunity if you only understand the possibilities.

You will first establish what kind of credit you have, what kind of loan you are capable of, along with how much your initial down payment and monthly fees will acrue to.

Should you use a cosigner, understand that such a relationship must be respected to it’s full depth. You are borrowing the cosigner’s credit, and any failed payment on your part at any time will also effect negatively on them. If it is parents, they will take especially even greater offense, that I have experienced cosigner’s displeasure, and had my house placed on lien.
This is one of the greatest dangers of trusting your family to help with your first steps in building your financial portfolio. It’s not personal, it’s just business only applies to professionalism, and this is why personal relationships are never recommended as business partners. It’s even worse with blood.

That is why contracts are important, obligation and agreements must not be taken likely. If you value your relationship, and do intend to help or receive help, then you will do that relationship a favor and consider every aspect and possibility, whether you think it will happen or not.
What if return payment is late?
What if the lendee is constantly behind on paying back their dues?
Are the terms fair, and are they reasonable demands in terms of payment and frequency compared to their means? It does not help to lend money only to ask for payback at a rate which they cannot possibly provide.
If such things are not considered, your charity can turn into additional burden you place on the very person you are trying to help, when in fact you are making it worse.

Vice versa, don’t walk into a deal if you do not think you can comfortably assure your lender that you can uphold your end of the bargain without issue.
Bad things happen when you are at the disadvantaged, being the borrower is bad enough, enough for some to hold over your head, keeping terms that address every possible outcome protects all parties, and ensures ethical practice.

There are many ways to build your nest egg, and signaling to your banker that you are serious for such investments will begin your financial tutorial, and they will give you a whole array of standard financial advice, what I consider fundamentals in the art of finance.

The art of the deal is real, but you must follow the rules to play the game, something Donald Trump will never understand, and in fact Ivanka is the only “Trump” that seems to understand the need for law and order and the importance of ethics.
It’s always the daughters that make fathers most proud.
Don’t tell the boys.

Back in my day, we had HGTV, house hunters, holmes on homes, my wife and I spent a nearly a year watching together, learning how to house hunt and holmes your home.
Not sure what there is now, but look to those shows, and find your own comparables on youtube.
Holmes is easy, spectacular diy home renovation, and they are specials, following the instructions.
There must be the same for house hunting, and first home buy considerations, so when it’s time, that’s what you’re going to look for.
Prices are negligible for house hunters, because the search was within a particular city or town, look at those numbers as comparison values to one another. Your target housing will follow much of the same principles when that time comes.

And I can’t believe I have to say this, if you’re Black, bring a White friend to pretend that they are buying the house through the house hunting, inspection, all the way up to financial signatures. Make sure they’re calling themselves by your name, the signature.
Can’t trust anyone anymore.