TheRedPin’s First Time Home Buyers Guide

We love making mortgages – and the home buying process – easy to understand. So, naturally we love it when others do, too.

Last week, our friends at TheRedPin released a brand new guide for first-time homebuyers. The First Time Home Buyers Guide To Evaluate Potential Real Estate Investments is free to download and contains some incredibly valuable information about the home buying process.

Designed to help you evaluate your home’s potential, the guide discusses things like walkability, new constructions vs. resale properties, how to plan for a future income property and long-term costs of owning a home.

For instance, did you know asbestos could be an issue in homes built before 1975?

“If the home is older than 1975, the number one question to ask is if there is any presence of asbestos. Prior to 1985, homes were not marked, noting if asbestos had been used. It is important to ensure a house is asbestos free as it can cause lung cancer and other severe lung diseases.”

Or, that the biggest value-adder in a home is a newly renovated kitchen?

“[The kitchen] is the social hub of a home and something buyers look for immediately when purchasing a property. If having an outdated kitchen lets you purchase a property for a very good price, it is one of the most sound investments to make. By later re-modeling a kitchen, you add 80-85% – sometimes beyond 100% – of…the value of the home.”

If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you’re about to make one of the biggest purchases of your lifetime.  And it’s important to ensure you’re getting the best possible information about the real estate market and the home buying process, as well as how to find the best mortgage rates, before diving in headfirst.