First Time Homebuyer in Silicon Valley for 2008?
It's the middle of December and homebuying may not be the top item on your priority list right now. Perhaps you're attending Christmas concerts in San Jose or Santa Clara, or shopping, or visiting Christmas In The Park in Downtown San Jose or enjoying an evening Carriage Ride in downtown Los Gatos. There's plenty going on in Silicon Valley right now.
But planning ahead for 2008 is a good idea nonetheless.
What can you do NOW, that will help in 2-3 months, that won't take a ton of focus? Plenty!
- order a free credit report NOW and have a good look at it
- almost invariably, there will be surprises (some things that you forgot about and other things that are simply wrong)
- contact the credit bureaus to correct the mistakes
- take steps to repair any "real" credit issues now!
- and then ask a few trusted individuals (smart and saavy friends, Realtors, or other real estate professionals) for the names of a few lenders. For now, just collect the names and contact info, nothing else.
You can order your credit report online (go to Google or another search engine and type in Free Credit Report and you will see tons of options) and it doesn't take but a minute or two to do it. Reviewing your report should not take a really long time either. So set aside 30 minutes at most to do this now. The sooner your credit is tidied up, the better for you. Mistakes and forgotten problems can really cost you money, so fix it now and be ready later!
And if you have a quiet hour sometime next week, email your handful of lenders. Look for a reasonable response time, willingness to help, and knowledge. Tell them you already have a credit report and don't need it run again (multiple runs of your report will hurt your credit!)
If you're a first time homebuyer, let the lender know that. If you want to live in San Jose, Cupertino, or other cities, there may be first time homebuyer programs that can assist you - but the lender will need to know where you want to live, if you are an employee of that city, town, or school district, etc.
Also... at a party this week I heard that Wachovia Bank has a special first time homebuyer program too. You may have to contact them directly for access to the program, but ask your few lenders about it too.
Now give the lenders a couple of weeks to find all the info you need. You're not in a hurry, and they may have deals that need attention immediately as some folks will be urgent to close within this tax year.
Now relax and enjoy all that Santa Clara County has to offer for the holidays. You can reconnect with the lenders in early January.
Want to read more? Read on!
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