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At Primary Residential Mortgage, we offer a wide variety of home loan options to a huge range of potential clients. From first-time homebuyers to those who have been flipping houses on the market for years, plus everyone in between, we’re here to offer the best mortgage rates in town and dedicated loan officers who will assist you with your entire process.

Many of our clients are first-timers, and such individuals or couples will often be looking for advice on how to navigate the mortgage and homebuying process. We’re happy to provide such expertise, including helping first-time buyers steer clear of some of the potential pitfalls involved in this process for those who are unaware of them. This two-part blog will go over several first-time mortgage and homebuying mistakes to avoid throughout the process.

Home Before Mortgage

We know how exciting and temping it can be to browse home listing sites like Zillow as you’re preparing to home search, and we’d never discourage this practice – however, we’ll advise you to be careful about getting too far ahead of yourself here. Do not make major assumptions about your purchasing power or the mortgage rates you’ll get until you’ve actually gone through the mortgage pre-qualification or pre-approval process.

This is because such assumptions might come back to bite you later on. You might end up being pre-approved for a lower mortgage amount than you had expected, for instance, or with slightly higher rates that eliminate many of your top options and force you to start this part of the process all over again.

Credit Score Mistakes

Credit score will be one of the single most important factors in any mortgage application, and you should take the time ahead of applying to ensure your score is in a good place – and to confirm it’s correct. A basic audit of your credit score ensures there are no old debts or improper billings listed on your credit report, issues that could artificially lower your score and damage your mortgage application. Failing to do so may leave you with fewer and worse mortgage options.

Down Payment Limits

Standard down payments for homes is 20% of the total purchasing price, though there are many programs, like FHA and VA loans, that allow for much lower percentages paid. If it’s realistic for you to save up the funds and pay a larger down payment, however, we strongly recommend doing so even if a program for a lower payment is available – choosing not to will raise your costs down the line, such as interest rate and potentially an area like private mortgage insurance.

Incentives Missed

There are also several incentives often available to first-time homebuyers to help them complete the process. Even if you don’t need one, such incentives should be capitalized on whenever possible. They include areas like first-home incentives, agricultural incentives or VA and FHA loans, which offer much lower rates and down payments.

For more on how to avoid errors as a first-time homebuyer, or to learn about any of our mortgage loan programs or services, speak to the staff at Primary Residential Mortgage today.

*PRMI NMLS 3094. PRMI is an Equal Housing Lender. Some products and services may not be available in all states. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. Programs, rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change and are subject to borrower(s) qualification. This is not a commitment to lend. Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views of my employer.