Buying your first home can be an exciting and nerve-wracking experience, all rolled into one, right? You're probably imagining yourself in that perfect home, but what if I told you that there are some common mistakes that could turn your dream home into a financial nightmare? Hey everyone, I'm Curtis Chism with EXP Realty here in Boise, Idaho, and today, I'm breaking down the top five mistakes that first-time home buyers make, and more importantly, how you can avoid them. After working with countless first-time buyers here in the Treasure Valley area, I've seen these pitfalls come up time and time again. But don't worry, by the end of this video you'll know exactly what to watch out for and how to make your home buying process smoother and more successful. So let's dive in. One of the biggest mistakes first-time home buyers make is not getting pre-approved for a mortgage before they start looking at homes. I get it, house hunting is super exciting, but here's the deal: without a pre-approval, you're flying blind when it comes to knowing what you can actually afford. Now, being pre-approved gives you two major advantages. First, it sets clear expectations on your budget, so you don't waste time looking at homes that are out of reach. Second, it makes your offer stronger when you're ready to make a bid. Sellers are more likely to take you seriously when they know that a lender has already vetted you. Now, getting pre-approved is really simple. You'll need to provide your lender with financial documents like bank statements and tax returns and proof of income. But also, pull your credit to see where you stand. But don't worry, that won't significantly impact your credit score as long as you're not applying for a whole bunch of loans over an extended period of time. Mistake number two: overlooking the hidden costs of owning a home. This is a big one that catches a lot of first-time home buyers by surprise. When you're budgeting for a home, you're probably thinking about mainly your down payment and your monthly mortgage payment. But what about all those ongoing costs that come with owning a home? Let's break it down. So you've got property taxes, homeowners insurance, and maintenance costs like repairing a roof, replacing a water heater, and don't forget about utilities. All of these add up over time. But here's something you might not realize: these hidden costs don't just pop up after you own the home. Many of them are part of your closing costs, which means you need to be ready before you even get the keys. Now, what are those closing costs? Closing costs typically include things like loan origination fees, appraisal fees, title insurance, prepaid property taxes, and homeowners insurance, and potentially some escrow fees. In Idaho, closing costs usually range around 1 to 2% of the home's purchase price. So if you're buying a $400,000 home, that could mean $4,000 to $8,000. Now, they can be higher, especially if you're using funds to buy down the mortgage rate, which is certainly an option to help lower your monthly payment. But here's the good news: if the home that you're buying doesn't have a lot of competition on it, then we can often negotiate something called a seller credit. This is where a seller covers those closing costs for you. This can help you avoid paying those costs out of pocket and essentially finance them into the loan. Now, the third mistake is skipping the home inspection. Now, this one is really crucial because your home is one of the biggest investments that you'll ever make. The last thing you want to do is move in and find out there's thousands of dollars in repairs waiting for you. Now, a good home inspection can uncover issues like roof damage, plumbing leaks, electrical problems, or even foundation cracks. These are the kinds of issues that can become massive headaches and financial drains. If you don't catch them before closing, you might be tempted to waive the inspection, especially if you think it will make your offer more attractive. But trust me, this is not where you want to cut corners; always hire a licensed home inspector. And if any red flags come up, you can either ask the seller to fix them, negotiate the price down, or get credits to account for the repairs. Number four on our list is not fully understanding your mortgage options. First-time buyers often think it's as simple as finding the lowest interest rate, but there's really a lot more to it than that. For example, you might be choosing between a fixed-rate mortgage, which locks in your interest rate for the entire loan, or an adjustable-rate mortgage, which starts lower but can get higher over time. Then there are different loan types like FHA, which might require a smaller down payment but come with mortgage insurance versus conventional loans that might require a higher credit score or down payment. The right loan for you depends on your financial situation and long-term goals. So make sure that you're working with a lender who explains the options clearly and isn't just pushing one type of loan. And finally, mistake number five is letting your emotions drive your decision. Look, buying a home is a huge milestone. It's easy to get emotionally attached to that perfect house. But when emotions take over, it can lead to costly mistakes. You might find yourself stretching your budget, ignoring problems that came up in the inspection, or getting into a bidding war that pushes the price way over your comfort zone. I always tell my clients to stick to their budget and don't compromise on major issues. Remember, there's always another house out there, and it's better to be patient than end up with a home that doesn't really fit your needs or your finances. So there you have it: those are the top five mistakes first-time home buyers make and how to avoid them. Like buying a home can feel overwhelming, but with the right preparation, you can dodge these pitfalls and make the process much smoother. If you're in the market for a home in Boise or anywhere in the Treasure Valley, I'd love to help guide you through the process and make sure that you avoid these common mistakes. Reach out to me today. Let's make your dream of home ownership a reality.

With higher interest rates, how do you profit from this when buying a home in our current housing market?  Watch this video to find out a couple ways to save you money when buying a home here in Idaho.   Deciding to buy a home when the interest rates for mortgages are high can be tricky, but don't worry. In this video, we're going to cover some of the smart things you can do to get a good deal on a house. One way is to look at new houses being built by Builders. They often offer lower interest rates and other incentives. Also, many sellers on resale homes, as well as Builders, are giving credits that can help you with your cost when buying a home. So let's first look at new construction homes. When interest rates are high, like they are now, it's a good idea to look at brand new houses. Builders who make these houses often give you a chance to borrow money at lower interest rates. This will help keep your monthly payments lower. Why do Builders do this? Well, they want to sell their houses quickly, so they are willing to make a better deal for you by giving you lower interest rates. Now, before you decide on a new house, make sure to: 1. Learn about the builders: Find out which Builders are good and have built nice homes before.2. Compare interest rates: Look at the interest rates at different Builders to find the best one.3. Read the rules: Make sure you understand all the rules about the Builder's loan, like if the interest rate could change in a couple of years. As your realtor, I can help you with each of these things. Another great option is using incentives or credits from a seller or Builder. Home Sellers and Builders want to sell their homes, so they often will give you some extra help. This help comes in the form of credits, which can pay for some of the cost of buying a house or even make your interest rates lower. Credits help you buy down your interest rate so you pay less per month on your mortgage. They also help cover closing costs, which are things like property taxes, HOA fees, and other mortgage costs. If the home is a new construction home, then this Builder may just simply offer the credit. Sometimes we have to ask for it. Now, if it's a resale home and you're dealing with a homeowner selling their home, then you usually have to ask and negotiate for that credit. Again, as your realtor, I'll help you negotiate those credits for you to help you get the most possible. Finally, if rates do fall, you can always refinance your home later. This means you may be able to drop your rate a percent or two and save you hundreds of dollars a month on your payment. But you just need to make sure that you can afford that monthly payment now and not just hope that rates will fall later. So if you're wanting to buy a home now, you can still find a great home by looking at new houses and using credits from Sellers and Builders. Just make sure you're careful and give me a call, text, or email to get started.

Are you trying to buy a home, but you need to sell your home first? While we're covering eight different ways to buy and sell a home at the same time, hey everyone, this is Curtis Chism with the Chism team brokered by eXp Realty. And if you're looking to buy a home but you need to sell your home first, we're going to cover eight ways to make this happen for you. Just give me a call so we can chat about which options make the most sense for you. The first and most common thing people think of is to make a contingent offer on the sale of your current home. The way that this works is you make an offer on the home you want to buy, but you're saying you won't actually buy the home unless you can sell your current home first. This honestly only really works if we're in a buyer's market and sellers are willing to accept this. In the market that we're in now, this generally just isn't working, so we need to move on to some better options. The second option is to sell your home first and then negotiate a rent-back with a buyer of your home for a period of potentially up to two months. This gives you added flexibility and time to sell your home, search for and close on a new home. Now, you might get some of that rent back for free, or you might have to pay for some or all of that rent back. It'll just really depend on what we can negotiate with that buyer. The third option is to stay in a short-term rental after you sell your first home and before closing on your next home. This gives you anywhere from a few days to several months to go ahead and buy your new home. With either a rent back or a short-term rental option, you can actually find a new home while you're selling your existing home and get an escrow on it, and then close on the new home shortly after you sell your first home. You just need to wait to close until your current home has sold. This allows you to sell your home, unlock that equity, and then close on your new home. The downside is you need to move all your belongings into storage for that period of time that you're in that short-term rental. This method brings us to the fourth option, which uses a similar strategy to finding your new home, getting a new contract on that while under contract to sell your existing home, and that is a double close. So basically, you simply close escrow on the same day for both the home you're selling and buying. With the right title or Escrow Company, you can do this. However, everything has to go perfectly with both escrows to make this happen. And that brings us to a few other options that do carry some extra costs and paperwork but can make the whole process a little bit easier and less stressful. The first of these is to obtain a bridge loan. So, the bridge loan is where you get a second mortgage for most of your needed down payment to go purchase that new home. Then you sell your existing home, and then you refinance all of that into one mortgage. This allows you to buy a new home, move into the new home, and then work on selling your original home. Now, the complication here, of course, is you're paying two mortgages at one time. It's oftentimes difficult for folks to qualify for two mortgages at once, and there are certainly some costs associated with this. The second option using financing to make the move easier is to pull out a home equity line of credit or a HELOC on your existing home. If you have sufficient equity, you can use that equity to put a down payment on your new replacement home. However, again, you're going to have to qualify for two mortgages at the same time. The next option, which I find often is the best for a lot of folks, is a home trading program that I have access to. And that allows you to buy before you sell. So what happens is you qualify for the program through this home trading partner that we work with. So what they do is they unlock your equity in your existing home so that you can buy a new home. And then you go and purchase your replacement home first and then turn around and sell your existing home. So you don't have to carry two mortgages at one time, and you can even get a rent-back window. We can even couple it with a cash offer program to turn you from a finance purchaser into a cash offer buyer. That makes your offer extremely competitive, and you can get into your home quickly with fairly low fees. And finally, an eighth way is to actually not sell your home at all. So what you can do is buy a second home and rent out your existing home. You can count 75 percent of the rental income towards your income, helping you qualify for your second mortgage. So you can start building additional wealth through real estate. So if any of these options sound like a good option for you, just reach out to me so we can figure out what makes the most sense for you. And I look forward to helping you purchase your next Dream Home. Thank you.