What should we do first?

I love showing houses!  It's one of the fun parts of being a realtor:  being able to "arrange" my furniture in the houses I show...that can be dangerous though.  It can make YOU want to move!  My parents bought and sold lots of houses during my growing up years (the were realtors in the Houston, TX area)!  ha ha

In order to  make a good decision when buying your first/second/next home, you should talk with a lender to get preapproved for a home loan.  There's many options available still.  If you have 20% to put down, that's great, but if not, don't lose hope.  In this rural market, USDA loans are available with 100% financing, and an FHA loan with 3.5% down is also an option.  Of course, conventional loans start at 5% down.

Many lenders will take your application over the phone.  Some want you to fill out a 3 to 4 page loan application before they will talk to you.  I equate this to sitting down in anticipation of filling out your income tax return...Ugh!  Don't be dismayed, it's all good though.

Getting pre-approved means the lender will ask for your paycheck stubs, W-2's from the last 2 years, and bank statements.  They will issue you a true pre-approval which means they've verified your information, and it will make you more like a "cash" buyer because they've already looked for credit concerns and found none.  It should help you be able to be a stronger negotiator when you're ready to make an offer. 

We here at Advantage Real Estate like to put our buyers in as strong as position as possible when negotiating for their home.  Besides, who wants to look at $120,000 houses to only find they can afford a loan for $80,000?  I've seen it happen.  Nothing looks good to them after that.  We want to set you up for the transaction to go as smoothly as possible...