In my last
post, “Gimme Some”, I told you that I bought my first property. Wooooohoooo,
thank You Jesus! Not because I was lucky or had a bunch of money, but I was
blessed!
First, I
have to say that I heard that I would be an owner and not a renter in my spirit
while I was still in Africa. When that quiet still Voice speaks to me I do my
best to listen, trust, believe and be obedient to what I hear. So what I did first was sign up for first time homeowner’s programs in the suburbs and city online before even leaving Africa. Next, I attended more than one session at different locations so I could learn as much as possible about home ownership. I listened carefully, that’s key and took notes. I not only listened to the instructors and their guest, but I also listened to the other attendees input that I also heard invaluable information from. At the end of these sessions you’ll receive some budget counseling and tips. Once your budgeting is in order you’ll get a certificate you will need to give to your selected lender to get state or federal benefits.
Let’s stop
right here so secondly we can talk about credit scores. As a consumer of any
goods you should realize that money doesn’t actually exist. Yep, I said that!
When buying a home or any big ticket item, even if you have cash, companies
want to know your source and resources. I’m so sorry many of us treat our
credit score as if it doesn’t count. ” I can say all this because I’ve been
there, bad credit valley. A good credit score is your bargaining and buying
power in this world.
The lower
your score, the higher your interest rate for any credited account. And the interest
rate is what drives up the cost of whatever you buy with a credited account,
much, much higher and that’s if you can get some credit. If it’s in poor
condition, the housing department that conducts the home owner’s sessions
should be able to help you work on your budget to help improve your credit
score and get you to the point that you are considered, “credit worthy. And you
start thinking about what type of home you want to purchase don’t dig yourself
into a hole. Remember, the bills will not come in the name of the “Jones”, but
yours.
Like I said,
I did it with only the necessary fees, no money down and nothing at closing.
Okay, so now you’ve completed homeowners classes, got some credit counseling,
got you act together with your spending and if need be jacked up that credit
score, it's then time to find yourself a knowledgeable real estate agent and a lender that has
the expertise in available grants and you can do it too!
