Before you take the plunge, you’ll want to review a few things, like:

Getting all of your financial matters in order before launching a home search is a must. The following are a few things you can start with.

One of the first things to consider when buying a new home is your debt-to-income ratio (DTI). This is a calculation that looks at what you owe and compares that against what is left. That’s a very simple way of saying that the DTI is a “percentage of a consumer's monthly gross income that goes toward paying debts.”

Don’t be scared of the math! This is something that lenders look at first thing to help make early decisions.

The above calculation is pretty standard in the business, and here are the steps:

1. First, add up all of your bills you must pay per month, which would include any existing credit cards, streaming services, groceries, gas.
2. Divide that by what you earn each month 
3. Then, take that number and multiply it by 100, and you will then get a DTI ratio.

Don’t like math? Try a calculator instead:

Once you’ve figured out what you can buy, and you have all your budget figured out, you can begin the process of shopping for a home. 

Let’s get serious for a second... none of those tips and tricks are worth going over unless you find a home that suits your needs. What if you need a garage, but can only find condos? These are tough choices. While you don’t want to compromise, you might have to find something that fits … and add the garage later. 

If you’re looking to move out of the area, try these national sites:

As you might already know, once you’ve found a home that you like, there are a bunch of things you need to do before all is said and done. There are important questions you need answers to, and we’re here to help point you in the right direction. 

You’re getting close to the end, but there are just a few things left to be done before you can get your cardboard boxes and masking tape ready. In the most basic terms, a mortgage is a loan from us that helps you purchase a home. Here are some tips to consider when starting the mortgage process:

Since we’re a bank, and we issue loans of all sorts, we have years of mortgage experience thanks to our incredible Mortgage Lending Team. They can help you in person or by phone, but here are a few topics that you might have questions about before you contact our team.

If you've made it to this point on the Guide, it’s almost “closing time!” In the real estate world, closing on a home means that the buyer and seller have agreed on a price, the inspection and assessment went well, and both parties sign a purchase agreement.

• This is known as being in “escrow,” when the buyer typically puts down a deposit, and the money his released to the seller after everything with the sale is finalized.
• During this time, you'll want to get the new home insured — yes, this is when you can call a silly talking lizard or another animated character from television for a quote.
• Once the buyer has met all the conditions for the purchase with the lender, there's usually a final walkthrough before the actual signing of documents. This is when you'll need the homeowner's insurance you just signed up for, and a great pen to sign your name on the pile of documents.