Tips For Queens, NY Home Buyers

1. Things you should not do before buying a home in Queens, NY:

• Do not make any major purchases of any kind, including buying a new car. Doing so may lower your loan eligibility significantly. For example if you have a car payment of $400 a month you would qualify for approximately $40,000 less than if you did not have the car payment. The same concept applies for appliances, furniture, electronic equipment, jewelry, vacations, and expensive weddings ect..
  
• Do not move money around. You will most likely be asked by your lender to provide statements for the last 2 or 3 months on all of your liquid assets. These include This checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds, certificates of deposit, stock statements, mutual funds, and even your company 401K and retirement accounts. If you have been moving money between these accounts it will make the whole process more complicated for both you and your lender. You may be required to show deposit reciepts, canceled checks or fill out paperwork that may become very tedious. Leave your money right where it is until you speak with your lender first.
  
• The effects of changing jobs when buying a home. For the most part, changing jobs should not affect your ability to qualify for a loan especially if you will be making more money. This is true for most people who work on salary or hourly wages. However, if your line of work is totally comissioned based, changing jobs may be disasterous when it comes time to apply for a loan. Even if your line of work is within the same field the lender cannot be sure that your previous earnings will accureately represent you future earnings in a comission based line of work.

2. The many joys of owning a home in Queens, NY:

• Credit: Owning a home improves your credit and greatly establishes financial credibility.
  
• Independence: Owning a home gives you the freedom to paint walls, plant flowers, renovate, keep pets and anything else you desire within legal bounds. Home ownership provides you with more independence and privacy than renting.
  
• Investment: Most improvements and renovations you make will add value and appreciation to your home. The more payments that are made and the more of your home you own, the more you add to its investment value.
  
• Pride: A home is a reflection of its owner's values and lifestyle. Owning a home can provide you with a source of pride, enjoyment and satisfaction.
  
• Security: Owning a home provides security against inflation. As prices increase, so does the value of your home.
  
• Stability: Being established in a community provides you with a sense of belonging, security and stability.
  
• Tax Advantages: The interest on your mortgage loan is deductible on your yearly personal income tax return. Many of the closing costs associated with purchasing your home are deductible, just like your property taxes.

3. Reasons why you should delay buying a home in Queens, NY:

• New to the area. If you have just moved to an unfamiliar area or region of the country, this is a very good to reason to delay buying a home. It is more logical to rent for a number of months before deciding on exactly where you want to live. Often when people buy a home immediately they find that it might have been wiser if they made the decision after they had waited awhile.
  
• Uncertain job future. You could be expecting a promotion and a transfer, be right out of college or your company has announced that there will be lay offs. If any of these apply, it would be best to wait before you buy a home. Once you have a more accurate picture of what the next few years will be like, that will be the time for you to buy.
  
• Marital problems. Real estate agents witness many changes right before their eyes. One of the saddest are when former clients divorce and are forced to sell a recently purchased house. The scenario happens all too often: a couple in a rocky marriage decide that buying a new home may help resolve their problems. It might be inevitable that these problems may happen, but selling a home before it appreciates can create an additional financial burden in a situation that is already stressful enough.