Buying a home can be tricky. There’s so much information out there, where do you even start?

Dundalk Renaissance always recommends you start with a housing counseling agency to help make sure you can afford to purchase a home and be financially solvent. Our sponsors at Residential Mortgage Solutions put together a quick check list to tick off before you go to your next open house:

1. Do you have a steady income? To qualify for a mortgage, lenders will be looking for regular sources of income over a series of months.

2. Do you pay your bills on time? If you have had challenges paying bills from time to time, you may need to focus on doing some credit restoration before buying, including budgeting, paying off any bad debts, and demonstrating several months or more where you are reliably paying your bills.

3. Is your debt to income ratio low? Your debt to income ratio is all your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. Most lenders prefer to see a debt to income ratio of less than 36%, but some may accept a debt to income ratio of up to 45%.

4. Do you have enough cash on hand for the earnest money deposit (the deposit you need to deposit in order to purchase a home), closing costs (are the fees and charges needed to finalize home purchases), and down payment (the initial payment on your home purchase)?

5. Can you make the monthly mortgage payments?

If you answered yes to all these questions, you may be ready to buy a home!

Meet with a loan officer at your banking institution or institution of choice. Be sure to keep your credit current and avoid frivolous and impulse spending. Do not have anyone other than your loan officer run your credit—this means not opening any additional lines of credit.

There are numerous grants and first-time home buyer opportunities to take advantage of.  Consult with your loan officer and housing counselor to see what opportunities will work for you. Click here for more information about our 10k grants and other home buyer assistance programs.

Residential Mortgage Solutions would like you to consider them for all your home buying needs. Since 1999 they’ve been a full-service lender and are accredited member of the Maryland Better Business Bureau with an A+ rating. RMS is a HUD/FDA approved lender with Full Eagle Underwriting Delegation. They do all the work for your loan in house, streamlining the loan process. Residential Mortgage Solutions is located at 1515 Martin Blvd, Middle River, MD 21220