There are few things you should think about before you buy your new house. The first is, can I / we afford it? This is important because you may be buying your first house or crucially you may be selling your current home and trying to move into a newer one.
In the latter instance, you need to know one very important factor. How much is the current house worth? Knowing this will help you in your search for a new house. Get a market evaluation done to determine the value. You can do this by asking your real estate agent, who will gladly do it for you – free. This evaluation will let you know how much you get to keep after you pay off the commissions, lawyer’s fees and moving costs.
The next thing to do is, talking to your mortgage broker and getting a pre-approval sorted out. This can be done quickly and easily and best of all, it does not cost anything. It also does not have any obligations attached. What it does give you, is the security that you can make an offer for that amount knowing that it has already been approved. So the moment the deal comes through, you can snap it up in a second.
Last but not least, spruce up your existing home. Spending a couple of thousand dollars to make it look nice and neat will definitely result in a higher sale price. If you get more than the original market evaluation, it will help you do a few extra modifications to the new house without you having to penny pinch.