Buying a New Home ? Home Buying Tips

If you in the process of looking for your first home, there are some essential steps that you should be aware of. Many times, people fall in love with a home and rush into the deal-not considering some important issues. Unfortunately, many of those people end up unhappy with their purchase or end up with a deal gone bad.

Avoid this by following the suggestions below and ensuring that you have thought out your purchase thoroughly.

The most important consideration should be the sales price of the home. Just because it's the best home in the neighborhood, that doesn't mean that you should pay a lot more for it. In fact, experts tell us that the "best" house in the neighborhood probably won't sell for much more than the other homes in the area. You should look to pay not more than 10-20 more than the other homes in the area-no matter how much nicer the home is. Anything higher than that is based on emotion-not business-and will probably cost you when you go to sell it.

Next, you should take a serious look at the neighborhood itself. How are the school systems rated? Even if you don't have children this is important because when you go to sell the home, your buyers might. Is the house located in a convenient area, or would you have to drive excess miles to do your grocery shopping? In addition, you should visit the area in the day time, as well as the night. Does the "feel" of the area change when it's dark, or does it still look like a nice place to live?

Finally-and perhaps most importantly-don't get caught up in "house fever" and commit to buying more than you can afford. One way to do this is by being pre-approved by your mortgage company. This will tell you exactly how much you can afford to pay, and that will automatically slim down your options. A good rule of thumb when you're shopping is that your mortgage payment shouldn't exceed more than 36 percent of your income.

To view our recommended home mortgage lenders or to read more articles about bome buying, visit: Recommended Mortgage Lenders Online.

Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan Guide. It is an information website with articles and news about various types of loans.

In The News:
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-10/13/content_7101047.htmcid=1256952153ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNGnYkT8Q6hFOsT0dLuMjhh1JKJPlgimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=tRMLAsXU4N4Jimgurl=www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20081013/00096bb163c30a5d6c0b05.jpg width=80 height=64 alt= border=1brfont size=-2China Daily/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/13/news/economy/treasury_plan/%3Fpostversion%3D2008101311cid=1256952153ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNF3tQqwYXwriAX8hwOuiSAFCVZQEgWhat Treasury is planning/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCNNMoney.comnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1b.../b for the government to brefinance/b the whole loans it purchases. But most mortgages are broken up into thousands of pieces - the bmortgage/b-backed securities b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DqaJ456CNCy0cid=1256952153ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNH71KQ_Ht2l4DS4QXq50tpxkcOJCAVideo: Paulson Says Global Markets Remain Strained/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/qaJ456CNCy0/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/qaJ456CNCy0type=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601170%26refer%3Dhome%26sid%3DaddCa.BISYDUcid=1256952153ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNFpHOrBB0kHB-R4LXMrP4WkyhJqWQTreasury Said to Invest $125 Billion in US Banks/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBloomberg/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://tothecenter.com/news.php%3Freadmore%3D7316cid=1256952153ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNG4yzzGlkKtuw1vV66bH0kQnpFq5wThe Bailout Plan in Plain English/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrToTheCenter.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1256952153hl=ennobrall 1,652 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-upside-down-mortgage-monoct13,0,2329863.storycid=1257260377ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNFl2I7SQS4v4bKkde5HH8OuDq2BBgbMortgage/b crisis has turned homeownership upside down/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fChicago Tribune,nbsp;United Statesnbsp;-/font nobr20 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;If you have some kind of disruption to your income and you can#39;t make your bmortgage/b payment, it#39;s going to be very hard for you to brefinance/b or anything b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
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table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sbwire.com/news/view/22363cid=0ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNH9YTTBFnqSqJNNIArR2lTgTLORGAThe Truth About bMortgage Refinancing/b Revealed By Oregon bMortgage/b b.../b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSBWire (press release),nbsp;WInbsp;-/font nobrOct 8, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The site is designed to give Oregon residents all the facts about bmortgage refinancing/b so they can make an educated decision when obtaining a bmortgage/b. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-livoice135881819oct13,0,6929750.storycid=1257173810ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNHjsoOA5Ykwu2WBU1iqN8qcUm_pywFreeport family battered by struggling economy/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNewsday,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobrOct 13, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Joan Fennell said her bmortgage/b broker quot;promisedquot; verbally she could brefinance/b again within the year into a fixed-rate loan and she assumed she#39;d earn enough b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601070%26sid%3DagoIVK3xOols%26refer%3Dhomecid=1257578974ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNHjWjfjl1sF3yMIYAM6mzJRWJ9nyAMcCain, Obama Promoting Populist Appeals on Wall Street Rescue/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr4 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Democrat is focused on recapitalizing banks while halting foreclosures and creating new jobs, while the Republican wants to purchase and brefinance/b b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/10/08/rivals_competing_for_voters_trust_on_economycid=1255319735ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNHlMb709n6zTMivBCuPA9X42GPKqwimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=rq483V9RrP8Jimgurl=cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/AP_Photo/2008/10/08/1223498947_4834/539w.jpg width=80 height=59 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Boston Globe/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2008/10/09/BU9B13DNI7.DTLcid=1255319735ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNFOP5uhSBMO7Dq1snL_kExPpNrFQgMcCain campaign outlines bmortgage/b-rescue plan/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSan Francisco Chronicle,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobrOct 9, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Barack Obama, McCain#39;s Democratic rival, has proposed helping troubled homeowners brefinance/b their mortgages, but his campaign attacked McCain#39;s proposal for b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DBAdIBCGcEo8cid=1255319735ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNEmORO182rG9CMpd_6UHz0_2r8D0AVideo: Obama: #39;Taxpayers Shouldn#39;t Pick Up Tab#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrAssociatedPress/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/BAdIBCGcEo8/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/BAdIBCGcEo8type=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09mortgage.html%3Fref%3Dbusinesscid=1255319735ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNGpNyBQ4P3x5BsbKtqiP0DAGNjOHwTaxpayers, Not Lenders, Would Bear Costs of McCain’s bMortgage/b Proposal/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNew York Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2008/10/08/mccains-300-billion-mortgage-plan-better-than-the-700-billion-rescue/%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsjcid=1255319735ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNEGJxnU49dl8S36Zsn-0HIiGQgPOQMcCain’s $300 Billion bMortgage/b Plan: Better Than the $700 Billion b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWall Street Journal Blogs/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usmort095875394oct09,0,1162571.storycid=1255319735ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNGmytWzblRJOtrejl0CTSa3-D65bAnobrNewsday/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/oct/11/principal-is-key-to-housing-solution/cid=1255319735ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNHfg7hNbl2s66So4siKeUJaWliI8QnobrWinston-Salem Journal/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1255319735hl=ennobrall 883 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table
table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://www.citywebshopper.net/articles/includes/redirect.php?url=http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-113622cid=1257461047ei=82H0SJbuDaGO6APL5sWVDQusg=AFQjCNEai5Rvwf6ToCJQ1j31HMJmbS730gHomeowner Advocate Demands Justice for American Consumers!/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fireportnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Armed with these tricks of the trade, a consumer can drive the deal and secure the best bmortgage/b or brefinance/b.quot; Ted Krager#39;s efforts to inform America#39;s b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table
mortgage refinance - Google News

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