When you are thinking about buying a home, you will be faced with many decisions. The first decision is whether you are actually ready to buy. Finding the right home is not always easy, and getting a mortgage loan can be time consuming and complicated as well.

To help you decide if you're ready to buy, we have prepared this checklist to help you through the procedures used to decide if you are ready to be a homeowner.

Do You Have a Job?
Having a steady job helps you to keep your promise to pay back a mortgage loan. If you have been working continuously for two years or more, you are considered to have steady employment. We will need to know your job history, and it will be a major factor in whether you qualify for a loan. However, you do not have to have held the same job for two years in order to be approved for a loan. Job moves that result in equal or more pay and continue to use proven skills are a plus for you. 

Do You Pay Your Bills On Time?
How you paid your bills in the past gives us some indication of how you can be expected to pay us in the future. When you apply for your mortgage, the lender will ask you to list all of your debts, the amount of your monthly payments, and the number of months or years left to pay on these debts. The lender will order a credit report to verify the information that you give them and to check on how well you have kept your promises to repay your debts. 

Do You Have a Credit History?
If you have never had any credit cards or taken out a loan through a financial institution, the various credit reporting firms may not be able to issue a credit report on you. In that case, you may be able to use a nontraditional credit history. For example, you may be able to document that you pay your rent, telephone bills, cable television, utility payments, or car insurance on time each month. You can put these records together yourself by making copies of canceled checks or showing copies of monthly bills that do not have any late charges. We may also be able to help you put this information together.

Do You Have Enough Money To Buy a Home?
When you buy a home, you will need money for the down payment, closing costs, and to establish an impound account. This money may have been saved by you, it may be a gift from a relative, it even can be a loan against your retirement account. Or it can be made up of a combination of all three. The amount of your down payment may vary. Besides your down payment, you will also need money for closing costs and to establish an impound account. These costs can be expensive. Sometimes the property seller is willing to pay a part of your closing costs or impound account. You will need proof that you have access to the funds you will use for the down payment, and your part of the closing costs and impound account.

Can You Afford To Pay a Mortgage?
If you pay rent each month, you may be prepared to make monthly mortgage payments. Normally, you can afford a mortgage payment that is equal to or up to 20% higher than your current rent. The amount of your new monthly payment will depend upon the amount you borrow, the interest rate, and the repayment period or term. The shorter the term, the higher your monthly payment. For that reason, most home buyers repay their mortgage over the longest term possible, usually 30 years.

How Much Do I Qualify For?
When you first approach a us about purchasing a home, we will refer you to a mortgage lender who will use two commonly accepted guidelines (income and current debts) to help determine your ability to make mortgage payments. These guidelines are a starting point for evaluating your ability to make the payments on the proposed loan. The lender will look closely at your individual financial situation to determine if more flexible guidelines are appropriate for you.