1.Determine your rights

When you are ready to buy your own house, be sure you understand your rights as a homebuyer. Knowing the process of buying a house prevents you from getting scammed. You can personally do your home work or seek for a knowledgeable person like a real estate agent or a broker. Make sure that the agent you hire is licensed and have a wide knowledge regarding the area.

2.Make sure you can afford it

Your budget is really a big deal in buying your own house. What you want is different from what you need, so be practical. You don’t really need a big house if you’re just one person that travels everyday, right? Make sure that you make the best for your money. Seek help or ask for suggestions especially for those who have knowledge in real estate prices. If you can’t stay for at least a year, buying a house is inappropriate for you. You may save a whole lot more of money if you sell it urgently.

Make your house a home. Be sure it really fits your way of life and you are comfortable with it. A good example of this is if you’re working in an office, a good place to find is near or in the vicinity of your office. If you love nature, a good place to find is outside the city with clean air, near parks, has a mountain view or near at the beach. Your personality really matters in finding a good house. Make sure to look at its suburbs first and try to gather some information about the area and its surroundings. Try also to consider the kind of neighbors you will have.

If you’re newly married, you might to consider how many kids you want to have. You can assume the number of rooms or the home space you need. If you can afford a house that is near to a good school, it is better. School districts are more important to home buyers, therefore, it will increase your property values. 

It is very important to make your document files organized and safe. Because it will prove that you own the house. It will help you a lot especially when it comes in paying your house payments (taxes and amortization).

If you've had a stable job for a couple of years and you like the area you live in, and do not think you will want to move for at least five years, then purchasing a home might be a good idea. You also need to be ready for the additional responsibilities such as yard care, fixing broken appliances, and other maintenance needs. Homes will not keep their value if these aren't kept up.

When you think you are ready to buy a house, it's important to consider what your credit rating is like, and what your debt to income ratio is. If you have a lot of debt, it's time to get it paid down. You want a couple of years of one-time payments, with no late payments for at least two years.

When you rent, your entire payment is just gone. But when you purchase you are building equity in your home and you will get either more than you have paid into the house back, or you'll get something back when you sell the house. When you rent, you will get nothing but perhaps your deposit back, if you're lucky. But, as a house owner you will have the responsibility of upkeep so if you are alone or travel a lot, you'll need to consider the added expense of someone to maintain your home.

4) How do I find a mortgage broker?

The best way to find a mortgage broker is to ask your friends. But, if you plan to buy new construction go to the sample house, and ask for a list of preapproved mortgage brokers. In fact, even if you have no intention of building or buying new construction, those lenders are usually really good or they would not be preapproved.

There are wonderful ways to research communities now. Use Realtor.ca, or Zillow.com to help you find houses in the area you want to live, and links provided will show you facts and stats about that area. You can also drive around in the area to see how it feels to you.

Other than the items you want on your wish list, look for rotted wood around windows, black stuff on the roof (usually mold), the size of the bedrooms, kitchen, and yard. Ask yourself if you like floor plan. What needs to be replaced? Carpet, appliances, anything else? Make a note of these things because if you like the house those can be points of negotiation.

Rather than rescheduling your debts see if there is any way you can repay some or all of your debts yourself. Sell unwanted valuables and other items.

Depending on the item you can sell to dealers, advertise in local classified ads or through Ebay. Sell unwanted books through Amazon. If your debts are very high and you own your own home consider downsizing to release equity.

3) Pay more than the minimum off your credit cards.

If you can pay more than the minimum monthly payments you should seriously consider continuing with your existing credit cards and clear the debts over the next 12 to 18 months.

While it may mean restricting your spending in other areas it will be the cheapest option long term. Of course you may still opt for debt consolidation to make managing your debt easier.

If you own your own home the lowest interest rates are obtainable by taking out a new mortgage to pay off your existing mortgage (if any) plus enough funds to repay you other debts. If repaying your existing mortgage will result in penalty charges consider a 2nd mortgage with your existing lender. The interest charged will probably be slightly but not significantly higher.

If you have already missed or been late with any payments, and as a result your credit score is too low for your mortgagor, consider a secured loan with another lender.

Secured loans in these circumstances are more expensive and the lenders are quick to repossess your home if you miss payments. Only take this route if you are certain that you can make the repayments.

Depending upon how bad your credit history is, so long as you maintain all your payments for the following 1 to 3 years, you can replace this loan with a mortgage or re mortgage once your credit score improves. There will be penalties however if you repay a secured loan early. Ensure you read the fine print.

If you have an expensive car, boat or plane you will probably be able to obtain finance using these assets as security. The rate of interest will be higher than a loan secured on property. If you do not have property or it is fully mortgaged securing a loan on other assets may be an option.

If you do not have property or other assets an unsecured loan is often a possibility. An unsecured loan is usually over a shorter term, normally up to a maximum of 7 years but occasionally longer. As a result the monthly payments will be higher but the debt will reduce quickly.

As the lender has no security your property and assets are less at risk if you default. The lender could, however, send in the bailiffs if they obtain a court order.

Because there is no security expect to pay a higher interest rate, particularly if you have a poor credit history.

If your debts are relatively low and you still have a reasonable credit history applying for another card with a 0% or low interest balance could be an alternative to a debt consolidation loan.

Go for a 0% balance transfer if you can realistically repay all or most of the debts in the 0% balance transfer period. If however, there will still be a substantial debt at the end of the balance transfer period go for a permanently low interest rate.

Be aware there may be a 2 - 3% charge on the balance transfer. To ensure you don't slip back into debt cut up all your credit cards and close paid off accounts.

10) Check all the options before making a decision.

As you research all the options it will quickly become clear if there is one obvious solution. For many individuals there will be more that one option so it is essential check them all out before makuing a final decision. Go to a range of different lenders and mortgage or loan brokers and obtain the best package for you. Remember you have the final say and just enquiring does not commit you to any course of action.