Austin, Texas has seen many new impressive homes. If you are looking to buy a house in Austin, there are a number of things you should consider. Here’s a step by step lists of the process that you will go through whenever when you want to buy a house in Austi, Texas.

Credit Scores

Check your credit scores and see what you're working with because most likely you will end up getting a mortgage. Being able to qualify for mortgages is based on your credit score and your credit history. So you want to make sure that you're looking as good as possible by the time it comes for you to actually apply for a mortgage.  Get a free credit report and see what's on there. Hopefully, it's all looking good because you've been making your payments on time, maybe you're even debt free or, at the very least, don't have any credit card debt. 

Budget

The next step is that you want to figure out how much you want to spend on a home. Now, this isn't how much you could possibly purchase or the bank might give you some money for, but how much you are comfortable spending now. You will also need to figure out how much you feel comfortable spending and how much a bank will be willing to lend you. But chances are you don't want to borrow as much as a bank might be willing to lend you. Don't just think about the home price. Also think about what you are going to do once you move in. Are you upscaling from apartment to a much larger house? Because then you're going to need some new furniture. You want to make sure that you have that in mind as you're planning.

Start Saving Money

Start saving for your down payment and closing costs. A conventional mortgage has a 20% down payment requirement. Now there are loans, like FHA loans, that can come in handy. There are pros and cons to those, but they might help you bring less money to the table. The other thing is the closing costs, which can cost between 2% and 5% of the value of the house. Sometimes, the seller will be able to kick in and pay some of these things out of their side of the transaction. But it just depends on the market and how good a deal is.

Make a Wish List

You want to put together a list of things that you want or don't want out of your house. Must-haves are things that you want at the house or else you are not going to buy it. Some of your must-haves may include a good school district and a two car garage. Other things to look out for are bike paths and custom pools in Austin. The other thing is a good view from the back yard. Deal breakers may be less than two bathrooms. Having this list makes it a lot easier for you to figure out exactly how much the potential house must have and it makes it easier to decide between comparably priced properties. 

Research Neighborhoods

Next, you're going to actually want to do the research into the homes and the area that you want to purchase in. So scope it out. You could look online. That will give you kind of a hypothetical value of houses and then show you what everybody is listing their homes for. You can see which neighborhood your budget is  matching up with. 

Get Pre-qualified for a Mortgage

Now, at this point you've been researching for a while. You've got most of your down payment and closing costs saved up. Now you're ready to get prequalified with a lender. Determine your debt to income ratio, which is how a lender decides how much money they're going to lend you. So it really shouldn't even be just you walking in there knowing that lender is going to give you the mortgage. The only question is, how much are they going to charge you for it?