How to Buy a House in 2013

Here’s a few helpful steps for the first-time buyer planning on purchasing a house in 2013:

Create a budget before you shop for a home. Subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly take-home pay. Use only a portion of the remainder for your monthly housing costs (mortgage payment).
Once you have a budget in mind, get pre-approved by a mortgage lender. Pre-approval gives you an idea of how much you can borrow, and helps you identify potential roadblocks to approval such as a low credit score.
Next, you’ll want to find an experienced agent to help you shop for a home.
When you find a home that meets your needs, make an offer based on comparable sales in the area. Use those comps to establish and support your offer. Negotiate as needed, as long as you don’t exceed (A) your monthly budget and (B) the reasonable market value.
Once your offer is accepted, you’ll want to have a home inspection done, and maybe a termite inspection if those pests are common in your area.
The last step is called ‘closing’ or ‘settlement,’ depending on where you live. This is when you sign all of the finalized paperwork, pay your closing costs, and get your keys!

Buying a house in 2013 is a different scenario than when we first created this website, back in 2006. A lot has changed since then. We have witnessed the nearly complete collapse of the housing market, among other things. Mortgage lenders have tightened their lending guidelines as well.

The U.S. housing market appears to be in recovery mode at present. Home prices are rising in most major cities, and even some of the hardest hit areas have stabilized. It’s giving sellers a newfound level of confidence. You can see it in their asking prices.