Steps to Financial Empowerment

Steps to Financial Empowerment
Submitted by: Suzi Gravenstuk
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Subtly, in the back of your mind, you may be wishing for a different home for whatever reason. You're driving around and suddenly the perfect home appears right before your eyes. You may right down the number to call later, or you may be so excited you immediately call the listing agent from your cell phone. It doesn't hurt to get information and start getting an idea of what price range you ideal home will fall in.
Before you start seriously looking, making calls to REALTORS, circling ads, there are some Pre pre-liminary, common sense easy steps you can take to empower youreself and strengthen your position.
#1: Don't wait for a lender to pull your credit report. Do it yourself. If you have not yet received your Big 3 free credit reports for the year--go ahead and order them . In the mean time, sit tight. Try to hold off on big purchases by credit, keep making timely payments for more than the minimum payment due. When your credit report comes in, go through it with a fine tooth comb. Go to work on errors right away.
#2: Your credit reports are only part of the story. You may hear general questions from agents, and for sale by owners. ...How is your credit? To answer that like the empowered person you are, or will be--you should get your credit scores and understand the rating system. Get your FICO scores here. Take time to go through the site. The first page will show you the ratio of your credit score to interest rates. If you haven't checked this before, it could be a real eye opener--which is the intention.
#3: Now that you have credit reports, you've been working on errors, and you have a good feel for what your scores are and general corresponding interest rates, Pre-qualify yourself. There are many excellent sites that help with budgets and pre-qualifying for the amount of home you can afford. Following are some of my favorites:
http://hud.gov , http://crown.org , http://exodusnetwork.org , http://keystomynewhome.org
#4: After these steps, you should know for yourself how things will flow. If you believe your financial picture merits going to the next step: research lenders and loans. It is easy to pre-qualify over the Internet; I suggest giving trusted local lenders a chance to work with you first. You may want to begin interviewing Real Estate Agents. Although you are not ready to begin previewing homes yet, agents may have local lending contacts to recommend. Remember, you are empowered. You are in the driver seat. You are the Boss.
#5: When you find a lender you are comfortable with, pre-qualify with them and work towards pre-authorization (Be ready to supply documentation).
Of course there are many more little steps towards acquiring the home you can afford. These are the first steps.
If you have not already empowered yourself, please do so.