The Ultimate Guide to Owning Your First Home

At Homes by Taber, we pride ourselves on bringing Proudly Overbuilt new homes in OKC and we do everything we can to ensure that our first time homebuyers are completely comfortable throughout the entire build process. For over 20 years, we’ve had the pleasure to help new homeowners realize their dream homes in communities that they love, and we will continue to do so for so many more years to come. Since the month of June is National Homeownership Month, we thought it would be the ultimate time to dive into some topics every new homeowner should know as they begin this exciting journey in their lives—so read on to see every tip we’ve included to create the ultimate guide to owning your first Taber home.  

Start your savings to buy a house

When it comes to buying your first home, the first step is to work on your savings. Buying a new construction home should be an incredibly exciting time in your life, and you don’t want to put any additional pressure on yourself during this time. This first step in the buying process can take awhile, and you shouldn’t be discouraged if you’re not where you want to be financially at the start of your homebuying journey. Taking the time to understand your financial situation is a crucial part of buying a home for the first time—so first, think about what your dream home consists of, how much money you’ll need by checking out our online mortgage calculator and take the time to build up your savings in order for you to reach that goal. 

With a down payment to focus on and closing costs quickly coming up on the horizon, it’s never too early to start boosting your credit score before you even start searching for a mortgage lending professional—and there are a number of different ways you can start boosting your credit score before getting too deep into your home financing journey. First, you’ll want to try to keep any large purchases to a minimum. This could include purchasing any new vehicles, applying for a new credit card or anything else that could be considered a “hard inquiry” on your credit score. If these hard inquiries start to add up, they can begin to negatively impact your credit score—and if they’re large enough, they can sometimes stay on your report for one year before disappearing. You’ll also want to pay attention to what the limit is on your credit cards. Keeping your spending at or below 10% of the limit is the best way to help benefit your credit score, but anything under 30% is a good goal to keep it at. 

Secure your financing to buy a home

Once your finances are in order (or at least on track to being in order), it’s time to start thinking about what type of loan will be best for you and getting pre-approved for your mortgage. A reputable lender will help you work through the best mortgage loan option for your specific homeowning scenario. To get an idea of what type of loan is best for you, you’ll need to get a few things in order before you can be pre-approved. 

• Identification: Your lender will need some type of identification such as your driver’s license for this first portion of the process. 
• Proof of income: For this step, you’ll need to gather up your W-2 statements from the past two years, your tax returns from the past two years and your pay stubs showing your income and your year-to-date income. If applicable, your lender will also need you to provide any proof of additional income similar to work bonuses or alimony checks.
• Proof of employment: You’ll need to provide your lender with proof of employment from the past two years. If at any point in that time period you changed jobs, your lender will need to verify those details with your previous employer. 
• Proof of assets: Your lender will need to see any current bank statements or investment account statements that hold the funds you intend to use toward your closing costs and down payment. 
• Credit score: For this last step, you will need to provide your lender with your social security number so they are able to pull your credit score. This will allow them to see your ability to pay off your debts—which will affect the loans you are able to be approved for, the down payment you can afford as well as what the interest rate will be for your mortgage. 

At Homes by Taber, we know how important it is for you to feel completely comfortable and prepared with your finances before purchasing your home—that's why we work with the trusted team at Stride Mortgage to ensure that all of our homeowners have the access to professional lenders for consultation whenever they might need it in order to figure out which plan of action is right for them. When you choose to work with our partner lenders at Stride Mortgage, you may take advantage of some of the following:

• Rate lock options up to 360 days. 
• A $2,000 Lender Credit to go towards your closing costs, prepaids, or to buy down your interest rate!*
• The most competitive origination fees, with no hidden costs highly competitive rates
• GUARANTEED on-time closings, putting an emphasis on this urgency, so you’re not stuck in stressful limbo without somewhere to live.  

* $2,000 lender credit cannot be combined with other offers or extended rate locks with refundable lock fees. Stride Mortgage is an Equal Housing Lender.  Member FDIC

Ease your mind  

When you work with our professionals at Homes by Taber to purchase your new-construction home, you can rest assured that you’ll have full transparency throughout the entire build process. 

During each portion of the build our team will set up internal quality controls to continuously check in throughout the process and ensure that everything is as it should be. As soon as construction comes to an end, we’ll set up the new home orientation and take you through each room of the home to ensure that all of the features and finishes are exactly how you imagined they would be and to demonstrate all of the systems for you to ensure you know exactly how to use them. 

We never know what the future can hold, and as a first time homeowner, it’s completely understandable that you might have more questions even after you’ve officially moved into your new home. With the Customer Care Department at Homes by Taber, we offer 24-hour in-house help to give you peace-of-mind long after you get the keys.

Trust our team at Taber

At Homes by Taber, we love working with our first time homebuyers in order to find the perfect home and community for them. Buying a new construction home can seem slightly overwhelming at first, but rest assured that we will be with you every step of the way throughout the process. From putting you in contact with the highest quality lender to selecting the best floor plan and homesite for your new home build, the trained staff at Homes by Taber is ready to help you move forward. If you’re ready to begin your journey into your first new construction home with our team at Homes by Taber, give us a call at (405) 984-1185 in the OKC area or fill out this online form today to have someone quickly contact you.