Before you even attempt to shop for the home of your dreams, you should make sure that you are spending a little time putting some thought into home finance. You will want to know what to look for, what you need and you will want to know what you need to avoid.
The biggest piece of advice I can give someone is to stay away from adjustable rate mortgages. You will probably be told that the rates will never increase too high or that you "shouldn't worry about it". As soon as someone tells you not to worry and forget about it, that is when you should start worrying.
Take a moment to learn about prepayment penalties such as how much it is and how long you would have it for, how mortgage payments are applied to interest and principal amounts and what type of down payment you need to make the payments reasonable for you. Make sure that you are also asking other questions as well.
You will want to know how long of a lock-in time frame you have when you are approved for your mortgage. You will also want to know whether or not they are using "points" in your closing cost figures and just how much that is going to cost you.
Now, you might find that the lender becomes a little uneasy when so many questions are asked. However, your job is not to make the lender feel comfortable. Your job is to make sure that you are not getting ripped off and that you are getting the best possible mortgage. This means that you have no choice other than to ask the tough questions.
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