Buying a new home is a very fun and exciting process, but you have to do your due diligence to ensure that everything goes smoothly. As the buyer, it is your responsibility to hire a home inspector and have a thorough inspection completed to ensure that the property you are purchasing is stable, clean, well-maintained, and ready for you to move in.

The first tip you can follow when beginning the home inspection process is simply making sure that you hire the right one. This means asking for recommendations and doing your research into the home inspector. Check their website, ask for a sample/previous inspection report, and ask about their qualifications or what the inspection will include. Remember, a home inspection will be completed by a general inspector.

 A general inspector is going to be looking to give you an overview of the home's condition as a whole, they may not be able to pinpoint tiny or specialized problems. They can also only inspect things they have access to, which means problems inside the well or septic tank are unlikely to be revealed by a general home inspector. With that in mind, realize that you have the right to call in a specialist for any area of the home you think needs to be checked more thoroughly.

That actually brings us to the next tip: When you work with a home inspector, be sure to ask any questions you have about the report or the home, and follow-up on any advice they give you if they suggest reaching out to a specialist to look into a particular part of the home further.

You can walk through the home with your inspector to see the things first-hand that they will be putting into the report. This can help you have a clearer understanding of the extent of issues they bring up and what the problem is exactly. No home inspector should have a problem with you wanting to walk through the house with them, and they should be happy to answer any questions you have about maintaining the home in the future.

At the end of the inspection, they will hand a report over to you. You should sit down with them and ask about what they have found. Any issues that have been brought up should be looked into further. Ask what it will take to fix the issues and then use that information to renegotiate with the seller. If it's a big problem, it may be worth turning the home down all together. This can be disappointing, but it's worthwhile if it means avoiding a costly problem with your new home.

 

 

 

Buying your first home conjures up all kinds of warm and fuzzy emotions: pride, joy, contentment. But before you get to the good stuff, you've got to cobble together a down payment, a daunting sum if you follow the textbook advice to squirrel away 20% of a home's cost.

Here are five creative ways to build your down-payment nest egg faster than you may have ever imagined.

1. Crowdsource Your Dream Home

You may have heard of people using sites like Kickstarter to fund creative projects like short films and concert tours. Well, who says you can't crowdsource your first home? Forget the traditional registry, the fine china, and the 16-speed blender. Use sites like Feather the Nest and Hatch My House to raise your down payment. Hatch My House says it's helped Americans raise more than $2 million for down payment

2. Ask the Seller to Help (Really!)

When sellers want to a get a deal done quickly, they might be willing to assist buyers with the closing costs. Fewer closing costs = more money you can apply toward your deposit.

"They're called seller concessions," says Ray Rodriguez, regional mortgage sales manager for the New York metro area at TD Bank. Talk with your real estate agent. She might help you negotiate for something like 2% of the overall sales price in concessions to help with the closing costs.

There are limits on concessions depending on the type of mortgage you get. For FHA mortgages, the cap is 6% of the sale price. For Fannie Mae-guaranteed loans, the caps vary between 3% and 9%, depending on the ratio between how much you put down and the amount you finance. Individual banks have varying caps on concessions.

No matter where they net out, concessions must be part of the purchase contract.

Related: New Law Protects You from Surprise Closing Costs

3. Look into Government Options

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, offers a number of homeownership programs, including assistance with down payment and closing costs. These are typically available for people who meet particular income or location requirements. HUD has a list of links by state that direct you to the appropriate page for information about your state.

HUD offers help based on profession as well. If you're a law enforcement officer, firefighter, teacher, or EMT, you may be eligible under its Good Neighbor Next Door Sales Program for a 50% discount on a house's HUD-appraised value in "revitalization areas." Those areas are designated by Congress for  homeownership opportunities. And if you qualify for an FHA-insured mortgage under this program, the down payment is only $100; you can even finance the closing costs.

For veterans, the VA will guarantee part of a home loan through commercial lenders. Often, there's no down payment or private mortgage insurance required, and the program helps borrowers secure a competitive interest rate.

Some cities also offer homeownership help. "The city of Hartford has the HouseHartford Program that gives down payment assistance and closing cost assistance," says Matthew Carbray, a certified financial planner with Ridgeline Financial Partners and Carbray Staunton Financial Planners in Avon, Conn. The program partners with lenders, real estate attorneys, and homebuyer counseling agencies and has helped 1,200 low-income families.

4. Check with Your Employer

Employer Assisted Housing (EAH) programs help connect low- to moderate-income workers with down payment assistance through their employer. In Pennsylvania, if you work for a participating EAH employer, you can apply for a loan of up to $8,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance. The loan is interest-free and borrowers have 10 years to pay it back.

Washington University in St. Louis offers forgivable loans to qualified employees who want to purchase housing in specific city neighborhoods. University employees receive the lesser of 5% of the purchase price or $6,000 toward down payment or closing costs.

Ask the human resources or benefits personnel at your employer if the company is part of an EAH program.

5. Take Advantage of Special Lender Programs

Finally, many lenders offer programs to help people buy a home with a small down payment. "I would say that the biggest misconception [of homebuying] is that you need 20% for the down payment of a house," says Rodriguez. "There are a lot of programs out there that need a total of 3% or 3.5% down."

FHA mortgages, for example, can require as little as 3.5%. But bear in mind that there are both upfront and monthly mortgage insurance payments. "The mortgage insurance could add another $300 to your monthly mortgage payment," Rodriguez says.

Some lender programs go even further. TD Bank, for example, offers a 3% down payment with no mortgage insurance program, and other banks may have similar offerings. "Check with your regional bank," Rodriguez says. "Maybe they have their own first-time buyer program."

Not so daunting after all, is it? There's actually a lot of help available to many first-time buyers who want to achieve their homeownership dreams. All you need to do is a little research — and start peeking at those home listings!