Your Lake of the Ozarks Mortgage Lender: Things to Do Before You Start Home Shopping

Friday, July 24, 2020

Things to Do Before You Start Home Shopping

If you have been thinking about purchasing a home at Lake of the Ozarks, it can be tempting to start the process by scouring the MLS listings. Before you start daydreaming about the perfect home and choose the location you want your vacation home at Lake of the Ozarks to be - there are a few things you can do to give you a good start. Team Lasson is here to help, so we have a few tips to help you get started before you begin looking for a home.

Speak With a Mortgage Lender

One of the first things you may think to do when you are ready to purchase a home would be to speak with a real estate agent. While it will be vital to speak with a reputable real estate agent to buy a home, it’s not necessarily the first step in the process. When you speak with a mortgage lender first, you will get a good idea for how much you can afford in your monthly mortgage. We will start with a pre-approval for a mortgage loan, and you can apply for this by simply going to our website (www.YourLakeLoan.com)

Creating a Proper Budget

Your mortgage payment is not going to be the only expense when you purchase a vacation home. You will need to make a budget that will include taxes, insurance, homeowners association fees (if applicable), home maintenance, and repair expenses that could come up. When you make a plan ahead of time, it makes it easier to not be surprised by expenses that may come up or unexpected emergencies related to owning a vacation home.

Decide What You Want In Your Home

Before you start looking at homes and are beguiled by their charm and appeal, you can sit down and decide what you truly want. Do you want your vacation lake home to have an amazing view? Would you prefer a large kitchen or plenty of guest room space? Spend this initial time making a list of needs and a list of wants so that you can pick through homes accordingly once you start your search.

Save Money And Organize Your Assets

You may have already started setting aside money for a while now, and if you haven’t, this is the time to start. You will be able to get a loan to cover a large portion of the cost of the home, but you will still need cash for some upfront expenses like the downpayment, closing costs, escrow accounts, reserves, etc.

A good thing to keep in mind is that the more money you’re able to offer for a downpayment, the better terms you can get for your loan. Setting aside money now and having your finances in order can be a really important aspect of buying a home!

Time to Buy a Vacation Home at Lake Of The Ozarks

After you've done these steps, now you can talk to a real estate agent and start your home search. You, your mortgage lender and your real estate agent will all work together throughout the entire home buying process. There's a lot that goes into getting a home loan at Lake of the Ozarks and making that purchase. As the best mortgage lender at Lake of the Ozarks, I'm here to help you every step of the way. Give me a call at 573-746-7211 to get started on your pre-approval today!

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