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Welcome back to Go Gaddis Real Estate Radio right here on A of nine 20 B answer. I'm Cleve Gaddis in this segment. Tips for first time home buyers, and also tips for spring home maintenance. My name is Cleve Gaddis. You're listening to Go Gaddis Real Estate Radio, where we help listeners go from real estate novices to experts to home selling and buying.
Can be done with total confidence and without all the worry. That's typical with life's biggest investments. My family has been selling Atlanta Real Estate for 37 years and we would love nothing more than to help your family satisfy its real estate needs. You can go to go get us radio.com if you want to, to con connect with us, or you can just give us a call the old fashioned way.
Seven. Seven. Oh. 4, 9, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0. And don't forget we want to connect with you. We really do. Go gaddis radio.com. You can subscribe to our podcast. We're available on every major podcasting platform, and we would love for you to be a subscriber. Doing something for the first time can always be a challenge. I have been known to say myself, I can do anything.
Perfect. As long as it's the second, third, fourth or fifth time I've done it. I don't remember ever doing anything exactly the way it was supposed to be done when I did it for the very first time. And you know, this can be a challenge for us in our daily lives. It can also be a real challenge for people who are looking to buy their first home.
You know, the loan process can seem daunting and almost paralyzing. Uh, and, and, you know, inspections and how do you negotiate and how do you move all of your stuff? And it can be just overwhelming and it's a shame. I know there's a lot of work involved. It's a shame that it's, it can be seem daunting and seem overwhelming to people because the reality is, it's, it's, it's fairly simple, especially when you're being guided by someone who understands the process.
John and Lilburn submitted a questions as we're buying our first home, and I know you've given first time home buyer tips in the past. Can you go over them again? Especially on how to succeed in making your dreams come true to be home owners. John, I wish I could snap my fingers and make your dreams come true.
Uh, I will tell you that the truth is, is that your dreams also have to match reality. And I'm not trying to reign on your parade. I would love for everybody to be able to have the exact home they want. The reality is most people in Atlanta, in fact I would say this percentage is, is much lower. For people who bought homes in the last few years, but I would say most people in Atlanta live in a home that meets 85% of their needs, 85% of their criteria.
Um, I have lived in three homes as a principal residence, uh, in my adult life. And, uh, I'll be selling that home this year. I've always wanted a three car garage. I didn't have one in the first home. I didn't have one in the second home, and, uh, yet again, did not have one in the third home. So we don't always have exactly what we're looking for, but I hope.
John, that you can find a home that works for you. Let me give you some tips, things you need to know. Number one, make sure you understand your credit score before you get started. Some of you might have a Equifax or an Experian or a TransUnion account or some kind of account that keeps you updated or maybe one of your credit cards.
Keeps you updated with your credit score. But if you are not one of those people who is constantly updated by some type of app or a credit card, then just go to annual credit report.com, A N N U A L credit report.com. Federal government requires a. Credit reporting agents to give you one agencies to give you one free credit report each year mandated under federal law annual credit report.com.
First thing, second thing, you need to know what your D T I is and if you're listening, You're probably thinking, well, I need to know what D T I stands for before I can tell you what my D two D T I is and debt. D T I stands for debt to income ratio and it is a very important number. When you're applying for a mortgage, it shows basically the percent of your income that's used to pay your bills.
So if you divide your monthly debt payments by your monthly income, that will give you the debt to income ratio. Lenders will allow debt to income ratios in some circumstances to go up to 50 or 55%. But let me give you an example. John makes $6,000 per month. John, and this is just a fabricated example here.
Has monthly expenses or monthly debt payments of $2,700 per month. Maybe a student loan, maybe a car payment, maybe a credit card. All of the debt payments that you have that are required get added. Into the total, and in this case, $2,700 is 45% of $6,000. So whether you are a conventional loan candidate or an FHA or a VA loan candidate, a 45% debt to income ratio should qualify you to buy a home.
First, get your free annual credit report. Second, calculate your debt to income ratio so you do not have any surprises. Third, Familiarize yourself with mortgage terminology. The mortgage lending process uses special terms just like real estate agents use special terms that may be unfamiliar to newcomers.
And so you can actually go online and type in common mortgage terminology or common real estate terminology. In many cases, your real estate agents is our agents who use the sheer home buying and the sheer home selling program. Were the only users of those programs in the state of Georgia. Only providers of those, and they have very specific details on all of the terms that you may or may not understand and tell you exactly what they mean is very important.
My next piece of advice for you would be you need to learn about the loan options available. Um, John, this was, I used John as an example, but that my example of money was not actually John and Lilburn. Um, but you need to learn about different mortgage options, so you know, is an adjustable rate mortgage right for you?
Do you need, you know, conventional or an FHA or VA loan? Do you need some form of a hundred? Loan, like you could get through a VA loan or you could get through a U S D A loan, or do you need three and a half percent down payment or 3% down payment? You just need to know all of the options, uh, that you are entitled to.
You can check loan options from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Just type in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into Google or whatever web browser you using. It'll take you to the site and they'll outline the different types of mortgages that are available in the United. Also don't forget closing costs in addition to the cost of the home, um, and the down payment you have to make, which is a percentage of the, the cost of the home, unless you are getting a hundred percent financing.
There are also closing costs involved those enclo appraisals and home inspection and credit reporting and title work and mortgage origin. Fees and, and, and inspection fees, things like that. And closing costs are, I would say, typically in the 3% range of the purchase price. They can certainly be higher than that.
The higher the price, the lower the percentage the closing cars cost are as. A percentage of that price. And then next advice is save what you need for a down payment. 20% down payment isn't required, uh, but it helps you avoid private mortgage insurance or mortgage insurance premiums. And then as you're getting ready to buy a house, John, my recommendation is think about how to make a competitive offer.
How do you offer terms that are attracted to a seller that still make the home affordable for. If you just joined us, you're listening to Go Gaddis Real Estate Radio, right here on AM nine 20. The Answer, mom, cleave Gaddis, and I'm your host and I enjoy being with you this Saturday morning. Question for you.
Does the honey-do list or your spring todo list sometimes seem intimidating to you? You know, tackling home maintenance early? Uh, on, in the process and maybe doing it all at one time could maybe help it not be so overwhelming. Albert in Norcross says, now that we own our first home, it seems like the two dues are never ending.
Albert, I will say that over time, the to-do list goes away. When you move into a new home, it's just one thing after another, after another, after another that you're doing. You're constantly at Home Depot and, uh, it can be a little bit overwhelming. Ask, do you have any suggestions on how or what to tackle now that the weather is getting warmer and I happen to have a little list that I'm happy to share with you?
These are things that I'll be doing around my house this spring. Uh, number one, I'll clear accumulated debris from gutters and make sure downspouts flow freely and direct water away from the foundation. I've got a big black lab and he loves to pull my downspout extensions out and take 'em in the yard and play with them.
So I gotta gather all those back and put 'em up near the house. Check your siding and your trim for cracks or peeling or chip pain or general wear and tear, and have any areas you notice that are damaged. Fixed. Inspect patios and walkways for cracks in any loose bricks or pavers. Clean window screens and repair any damaged areas and look around the property for damaged tree limbs and branches.
I always do that. I have a lot of stuff in the yard, and then inspect the irrigation system and fix any Brooklyn sprinkler heads. I always have to do that. Pretty much every single year. So that is my list in terms of things that you probably should do early on in the spring, uh, good spring cleaning, airing out the house.
Sometimes people have their H V A C air ducts, clean, things like that. This segment of the show is brought to you by the law firm of O'Kelly and Sohan. They're a full service law firm with 26 offices. Throughout Metro Atlanta, they specialize in residential real estate closings, home purchases, refinance closings, corporate relocation, uh, real estate contract review and title insurance matters, and they can be reached by calling 7 7 0 4 9 7 0 0 0 0.
If you're looking to sell your home anytime in the next six months, or you're considering it anytime, really, even in the next year, is not too early to. I suggest you reach out to us and see if we can help you sell your house for $28,000 more than your neighbors sold their home for. If you're listening to that and thinking it could be some sort of gimmick, I say.
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We're gonna value the home differently, which means we might be able to value it for more. And we've got the funds if we need to, to make some slight improvements to your home before the home gets listed. Those are our competitive advantages. Go get us radio.com. Click on sale for $28,000 more. We're gonna take a quick break when we come back in our neighborhood spotlight.
Lakefront properties at Lake Lanier. Can you afford to buy a lake house? I would like to know the answer to that question. And what are the pros and cons of living near a lake? Stick with us. We'll be back.