By the time they decided to purchase a property, the community college teacher and his financial planner wife were in their late 30s. Yet the couple still harbored numerous fears and posed a multitude of questions during the nearly 100 hours they spent plotting strategy and looking at homes with their real estate agent. Only after they closed the deal were they able to relax.
Apprehension is common among novice buyers.
Your odds improve if you take a deliberate, cautious approach. No first-time buyers should endure a mortgage lender who is impatient or condescending. High-schoolers have long known that their score on a standardized test, such as the SAT or ACT, will have a heavy bearing on their chances of being admitted to a college of their choice. Although they are not widely known, FICO scores are to homebuyers what test scores are to those seeking college admission. Doyle, a mortgage broker for 21 years, says fewer than half her clients are aware that their credit is being systematically scored.