Buying a home can be a very daunting task. Most first-time home buyers feel fearful when it comes to this type of decisions, and their fears aren?t entirely unfounded. Buying a home is a momentous life event, and if done wrong, you could mess it up. For such a huge purchase, making mistakes can be a bit paralyzing.

To help you, we have rounded up a little guide to making your dream home a reality. This guide aims to empower you in making wise decisions in home ownership.

A Quick Guide to Buying Your Dream Home

1. Before anything else, make sure you are 100% sure and ready to buy a home. As with all other major decisions in life, this one requires a lot of thought. Do you think you?re better off renting or do you think you are throwing away money by doing so? Make up your mind and re-think before jumping into a decision.

2. Get your finances ready. Know where you stand when it comes to your finances. Get a copy of your credit report and make sure to check for mistakes or errors and dispute them before getting a new loan. Also, try to settle other monthly debt obligations before the home loan to avoid monthly payables piling up.

3. Find a good lender such as Prospect Mortgage. As one of the nation’s largest independent residential retail lenders, Prospect Mortgage has greater control over home lending options, making it a great option for first time home owners.

It is able to approve and close loans in-house while offering first-time home owners two smart solutions – the 203k loan and the Homepath loan.

• The 203K loan ? The 203k loan lets a buyer finance the cost of improvements into the purchase or refinance of a home. It features low down payments, flexible underwriting guidelines, and allows eligibility of different types of properties.

• The HomePath Loan ? This program offers foreclosed homes to qualified buyers. For as little as 5% down payment, you can get a great price on bank-owned homes with no mortgage insurance which translates to lower payments.

For more information regarding these two loans, you can visit the links provided or you can also visit the nearest branch or talk to one of their loan officers at 1-866-439-6549. They?ll be happy to discuss with you your options and help you decide if you are ready to get your very own home.

4. Get a good real estate agent to help you. While some may argue that with the right know-how, you can save money by skipping the agent. But a good agent can actually offer you his or her expertise that may lead you to avoid problems. A good agent?s experience and market knowledge could prove to be well worth it in the end. Try asking for referrals from friends and family. Only commit to working with an agent if you are comfortable with the person and if people you know can vouch for the person?s expertise.

5. Do your homework. Learn all you can about the location you are eyeing, get a home inspection, and read all the disclosures. Keep your eyes open and listen to your gut. Make sure it feels right, and when it does, negotiate like a pro!
6. Reserve a moving truck and get ready to move in! And oh, get a good home insurance too!

Best of luck in your path to home ownership. If you need more details, be sure to drop by the Prospect Mortgage site.

?This post has been inspired by Prospect Mortgage as part of a campaign by the Niche Parent Network. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own.