Tips for Shakopee First Time Home Buyers

Are you in the planning stages to buy your first home in Shakopee, MN? There are some simple things that I would like to share with you about Shakopee real estate to help ensure you avoid some of the biggest mistakes many first time home buyers make. With some basic preparation you can avoid some painful pitfalls.

5 Tips For Shakopee First Time Buyers

1) Get preapproved for mortgage financing first! I have met far too many first time buyers who find a home first, only to find out they do not yet qualify for financing. It can be an extraordinarily painful experience to go through the work of finding the ideal home only to find out you are not yet ready to qualify for a home loan. You can get preapproved with my preferred Minnesota mortgage lender even during the evenings or on weekends, and generally right over the phone. There is no cost and no obligation so why not start the process of preapproval immediately?

2) Get educated about the whole process of home buying early on. You can learn a great deal at a first time home buyer seminar or at a Home Stretch Worshop available through many communities around the Twin Cities. There is so much to know about the process that it is well worth it to learn as much as you can, as early as you can.

3) Get a home inspection on the house you are planning to buy. While a home inspection is not required it can reveal major potential problems in the house before you are fully committed to the purchase. You can negotiate a transaction with a contingency upon a satisfactory home inspection so that if it comes back bad, you can back out of the transaction. Some first time home buyers will skip the home inspection because of the $300 to $500 cost of the inspection. The inspection cost is cheap when compared to making a purchase of a home that later reveals multiple problems.

4) Please take care of your credit after preapproval. After you have received your preapproval for mortgage financing your MN mortgage company still might need to check your credit again. Make your payments on time and do not open up any new credit. Additionally, avoid additional credit inquiries after your preapproval application to avoid potential problems with your credit score.

5) Do not spend your down payment money prior to loan closing. Your mortgage banker will give you a good faith estimate at loan application showing how much money you will need at closing. Just save your money so that you're not caught in a bind on the day of closing.

Located just southwest of Minneapolis, Shakopee MN is a popular bedroom community of the Twin Cities. As the county seat of Scott County the city of Shakopee has more than tripled in size over the last twenty years. Shakopee is also home to popular entertainment destinations such as the Canterbury Park horse race track, the Valley Fair amusement Park as well as the Renaissance Festival. As an outer-ring suburb many residents commute 20-30 minutes to downtown Minneapolis. MN first time home buyers in this area in this area will want to look into the Scott County home buyers club for down payment assistance up to $4,000.

First Step In The Process

For many MN first time home buyers the intimidating question is where do I start? Your very first step to home ownership is to get prequalified for a home loan. In so doing you will find out how much you are qualified for so that we can research homes in a price range with comfortable payments for you.


Robert Phyle,CSP,GRI,RSA
Broker Associate, Realtor
Coldwell Banker Burnet
rlphyle@cbburnet.com
Cell 612-801-4657
Direct 952-997-1955
Fax 952-432-8372
7741 147th St W.
Apple Valley, MN 55124
www.facebook.com/robphylerealestate
Visit my website to find Minnesota homes for sale