Unless you plan on paying with cash, your first step will be to get a pre- approved loan. Once you get pre-approved, you will know with more accuracy the price of the home you can afford.

While you can never know how much a home is worth exactly, your agency has been trained to use comparable properties to determine accurate pricing of homes. He or she will look at houses that have recently sold in the area that are similar to the one you are buying to ensure that you are paying a fair price.

• The law dictates that only Filipino citizens are allowed to buy a home or a condo. A foreigner, however, can co-own the said property via his or her Filipino spouse.
• Another way to own property is if the foreigner first owns a corporation or a partnership that is at least 60% Filipino-owned. Otherwise, the homebuyer may be disqualified from the legal privilege of owning real estate.

• Pre-qualification: Getting pre-qualified for a mortgage gives first-time homebuyers an indication of how much they “might” qualify to borrow. This mortgage amount is not guaranteed because no information has yet been verified. A letter from the lender may only state that you are “likely” to be approved for a mortgage.Pre-approved: Better yet is getting pre-approved for a mortgage, which is based on a real credit score, and it also puts real estate agents and home sellers at ease. The buyer has more to offer when making a deal and in a competitive market this can be a definite plus.

– Understanding the current local market will help you determine if a seller’s asking price is on target or way too high. Your realtor can pull  the comparing listing data for similar homes that are currently on the market and have sold in the last six months or so as a basis for comparison.

• What are the neighbors like ?

• Getting a true feel of the neighborhood can be difficult before moving in, but this aspect shouldn’t be overlooked. Ask the seller what the neighbors are like. Noisy or quiet? Is it a pet- friendly place or are there a few pets around ? Are the existing neighbors friendly or more likely to keep to themselves ? Don’t rely solely on the seller to reveal these details because you might not get the full story.

You can always change a house and fix things you don’t like, but the neighborhood is there to stay. It’s important that you like the environment you’ll be living in the next 10, 20 or 30 years. Your Realtor can help you find out key information, such as community amenities, school rating and how busy traffic is where you’ll be living.