{"id":232,"date":"2021-01-21T00:24:57","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T00:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232"},"modified":"2021-01-26T20:23:50","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T20:23:50","slug":"tips-for-buyers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Buyers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Making the Right Move: A Checklist for Homebuyers<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

JANUARY 2, 2021 BY CAROLINALIFE<\/a> (EDIT)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you are a first time home buyer or an experienced homeowner, buying a new home is always stressful. Here\u2019s a handy checklist of six things you can do up front to make the process a lot easier. Before you start packing, here\u2019s what you need to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Prepare a budget. <\/strong>You need a clear picture of your family\u2019s finances before you even think about calling a Realtor or applying for a mortgage. List all your monthly fixed expenses, such as car payments, current rent or mortgage, utilities, school tuition, and loan payments. Add categories for other expenses such as food and entertainment.<\/li>
  2. List your debts. <\/strong>If you have existing credit card debts, student loans or other debts that require regular monthly payments, get them down in black and white, so you know exactly how much you owe. Figure out your debt ratio. There are plenty of online calculators that will do this for you. You need to know two ratios. Your housing debt expenses (including taxes and insurance) as a percentage of your gross monthly income should be 25-28%. Your installment debt ratio (credit cards and other consumer debt) should be around 10-15%. Your total debt to income ratio should not be more than 40%.<\/li>
  3. Get pre-approved. <\/strong>#1 and 2 above are important because you want to get pre-approved for a loan before you start shopping. This is an important safeguard, to keep you from falling in love with something you can\u2019t afford or can\u2019t get a mortgage for. Getting pre-qualified means that you give a lender your overall financial picture, including your debt, income and assets. The lender evaluates this information and gives you a ballpark figure of the mortgage amount for which you could qualify. Pre-qualification can be done over the phone or on the Internet, usually at no cost. Pre-approved, on the other hand, means that a lender evaluates your debt ratios, your credit report, and your overall ability to repay a loan and says, \u201cYes, I would loan this buyer X number of dollars to buy a home.\u201d<\/li>
  4. Make a list. <\/strong>Before you begin working with a Realtor, you need to make a two-column list of needs vs. wants. Be sure you know the difference! You need <\/strong>three bedrooms. You want <\/strong>a swimming pool. You need to be very upfront with your Realtor about exactly what constitutes a deal-breaker in your purchasing process. If more than one person is involved in making the final decision, be sure that you are more or less in agreement about needs and wants. If one spouse wants a short commute and the other has visions of a country estate, you could have a problem. Resolve these issues ahead of time.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Call Carolina Life. Once you\u2019ve done your homework, it\u2019s time to start talking with a Realtor. You want to find a Realtor who represents you and puts your interests first. At Carolina Life our clients come first. It\u2019s not about selling you a home, it\u2019s about matching your wants and needs, not just with a house but also an area and a lifestyle.<\/strong>\u00a0Buying a home could well\u00a0be one of the single most important decision you will ever make, both financially and emotionally, however, if you partner with Carolina Life and prepare thoughtfully for the process, it can also be a fun, rewarding and stress free experience.<\/strong> Contact us now for your free consultation<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Making the Right Move: A Checklist for Homebuyers JANUARY 2, 2021 BY CAROLINALIFE (EDIT) Whether you are a first time home buyer or an experienced homeowner, buying a new home is always stressful. Here\u2019s a handy checklist of six things you can do up front to make the process a lot easier. Before you start packing, here\u2019s what … » Learn More about Tips for Buyers<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28,"parent":10,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-232","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nTips for Buyers - Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Excerpt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tips for Buyers - Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Excerpt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CarolinaLife.Homes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-26T20:23:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/post2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232\",\"name\":\"Tips for Buyers - Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/post2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-21T00:24:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-26T20:23:50+00:00\",\"description\":\"Excerpt\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/post2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/post2.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=232#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tips For Buyers and Sellers\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?page_id=10\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Tips for Buyers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/\",\"name\":\"CarolinaLife.Homes\",\"description\":\"Carolina Life & Homes Realty Raleigh area buy\\\/sell home experts\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Carolina Life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Carolina Life & Homes Realty\",\"alternateName\":\"Carolina Life\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/919-263-1808.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/919-263-1808.png\",\"width\":750,\"height\":750,\"caption\":\"Carolina Life & Homes Realty\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/carolinalife.homes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/CarolinaLife.Homes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@carolinalifehomesrealty\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tips for Buyers - Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales","description":"Excerpt","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tips for Buyers - Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales","og_description":"Excerpt","og_url":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232","og_site_name":"Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CarolinaLife.Homes","article_modified_time":"2021-01-26T20:23:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/post2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232","url":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232","name":"Tips for Buyers - Carolina Life ~ your experts in Raleigh area home sales","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/post2.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-21T00:24:57+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-26T20:23:50+00:00","description":"Excerpt","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/post2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/post2.jpg","width":1600,"height":640},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=232#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tips For Buyers and Sellers","item":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?page_id=10"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Tips for Buyers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/","name":"CarolinaLife.Homes","description":"Carolina Life & Homes Realty Raleigh area buy\/sell home experts","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Carolina Life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/#organization","name":"Carolina Life & Homes Realty","alternateName":"Carolina Life","url":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/919-263-1808.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/919-263-1808.png","width":750,"height":750,"caption":"Carolina Life & Homes Realty"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CarolinaLife.Homes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@carolinalifehomesrealty"]}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/post2-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/post2-600x600.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinalife.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}