Are You Ready to Buy?

To determine if you are ready to buy a home, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I sure I want to buy a house?
Do I have steady income and stable employment?
Do I plan to remain in the area for the next several years?
Have I created a budget so that I know how much more I can realistically afford to pay for housing?
Do I have an established credit record or can I build a non-traditional credit history with records of payments to previous landlords and utility companies?
Do I have enough money saved for the down payment (if required) and closing costs? If not, can I enlist the aid of relatives or government or non-profit agencies that might give or loan me money at a low interest rate?
Have I been pre-qualified by a lender so that I know how much I can borrow based on my income and existing debt?
Is my existing debt low enough that it will not limit my ability to qualify for a mortgage? If not, can I pay down my debt before I attempt to buy a house?
Have I looked into the benefits and requirements of the numerous financing options that are now available to low- and moderate-income home buyers?

If you can answer YES to all or most of these questions, you may be well on your way to owning your own home.