Hello! DH and I are ready for a house next year.  I will be done with school next summer and he will be in the fall.  I only work part time but we have been saving money and think we are ready for the big step next year.  Just like planning for our big day, I am trying to gather all of the info I can.  My mom is a realtor and my father is a contractor so this will help but otherwise, I feel like I still need so much advice.  

Well, you're definitely in the right group! And having a realtor and contractor for parents is amazing!

I would suggest starting with your pre-approval and then setting your own limit from there. DH and I were approved for a certain amount, but we knew that we personally wouldn't be comfortable spending that much, so we actually dropped our own figure to a lesser amount.

I would also suggest making three lists:

• Things you absolutely must have in a house
• Things that would be nice but aren't mandatory
• Things you absolutely do not want

Consider things like location, square footage, yard space, rooms, and features.

Finally, run a credit report right away! You are not penalized for checking your own credit, and Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax will each run a free report once a year for you. This way you can see any areas that might be pulling your credit score down - mistakes with accounts, a forgotten credit card with a small balance, etc. Try to fix anything you can to get the highest score possible - this will give you the best interest rates.

HTH!

Thanks a bunch.  We ran the credit reports and are good with those.  We just don't want to get preapproved to early and have the loan period expire.  

I totally understand about the short shelf life of the pre-approval, but I found that it was kind of necessary for us. Without knowing how much we could borrow, we didn't know where to look pricewise for houses.

The first time I purchased a home I did it myself - I hadn't even met DH then. It took me almost a year to find my place and have an offer accepted. This time it took DH and me 13 months! Even though we're serious hunters, the right house took time. We naturally had to go through the pre-approval process again, but I think that's the case for almost everyone, and we definitely thought that it was worth it. No realtors took us seriously without it, and I would have been worried that I was wasting my time looking at houses we wouldn't have been able to afford in the long run.

Of course, if your mom is telling you to wait, I'm not going to contradict a professional!

HI! Congratulations on this next big step! And yes, that really helps that your mom and dad know their business! Good luckkk!