Use this handy guide to learn the ins and outs of the homebuying process, from how to find the right home to financing explanations and more.
Welcome To Legend Pg. 1 Why Buy A Home? Pg. 3 Getting Started Pg. 5 Finding The Right Home Pg. 11 How Buying A Home Works Pg. 13 Moving Preparation Pg. 15
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Who Is
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Legend Homes builds and sells a ordable, high-quality homes in tailored communities. For more than 30 years, we’ve been committed to constructing homes that suit individual standards, budgets, and lifestyles — and to supporting customers through a transparent, easy, and stress-free buying process. We believe a home of your own — in a great community — o ers unparalleled potential. A place from which you can both root and rise, making anything possible.
We’re here to help our customers reach their Dream of Homeownership by removing barriers along the way.
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How We’re Dedicated To Helping.
Becoming a homeowner isn’t always easy. Our team of experienced professionals works day in and day out to help our customers reach their goals, no matter where you are in your homebuying journey. We provide homebuying assistance and guidance tailored to your needs. A shopping experience designed to fit your life — and help you find a home that fits best. And, through our transparent purchasing process, you can
equip yourself with the tools, resources, expert guidance, and personal care needed to navigate the experience every step of the way. From community and home design to customer support and more, partnering with Legend Homes means a dedicated team is working behind the scenes to ensure your homebuying experience is not only smooth from start to finish but successful too.
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Buying a new home is a monumental step in life. For many, this decision marks the end of renting from month to month or year to year, replaced instead by a long-term commitment to a neighborhood, a city, and a place to call home. Yet everyone’s situation is di erent, so while some may be ready to jump into homeownership, others may not. Consider five potential reasons why you might want to buy a home: Why Buy A Home?
Space & Privacy Raise a Family Stability Pride in Homeownership Build Wealth & Invest in Your Future
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Why You Should Buy New Before finding the perfect community and the right floorplan, you should first consider whether you want to buy a new home or a used residence. And while there are positives to both, one choice is often better than the other. 7 Reasons
Consider seven reasons why you should buy new:
Energy E ciency Minimal Maintenance Planned Communities
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Builder Incentives In-House Lenders Warranty and Customer Care More Time to Prepare
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GETTING STARTED STEP 1: Understand Your Finances & Budget One of the first steps in any homebuying search is understanding your financial situation. Identify your monthly net income — sometimes known as take-home pay after taxes and other benefits — to see what you can a ord to pay toward a mortgage each month. A good rule of thumb, according to Chase Bank: Follow the 28% rule , which says that your mortgage payment — including principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — shouldn’t exceed 28% of your monthly gross income. An easy way to calculate the max mortgage payment you can a ord is by multiplying your monthly gross income by 0.28:
Key Terms To Know When you’re buying a new home, sometimes it can feel like everyone is speaking a language you don’t understand. Use this handy list of key terms to know when you begin the homebuying process. • Closing Costs • Mortgage • Interest Rate • Earnest Money • Escrow • Good Faith Estimate • Debt to Income Ratio (DTI) • Homeowner’s Association (HOA) • Homestead Exemption • Inventory Home • Municipal Utility District Tax (MUD)
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• Monthly Gross Income = $7,500 • $7,500 x 0.28 = $2100
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Di erent Loan Programs & Ideal Credit Scores for Each
Homebuyers can choose from several di erent loan options when they’re ready to make their purchase. Each of these is associated with di erent requirements for a buyer’s credit score and DTI ratio. A few of our customers’ most common loan types include: Read The Blog
Credit scores must be at least 620 (680+ preferred) with a DTI of up to 50% and minimum of 5% down. Conventional
FHA Backed by the Federal Housing
Commission (FHA), credit scores for these loans must be at least 580 (640+ preferred) with a down payment of at least 3.5%.
VA
Administered by the Department of Veterans A airs (VA), buyers can put as little as $0 down with lower interest rates than other loan types. Applicants must be in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard to qualify. Preferred credit scores should be at least 640.
USDA Loans through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) can be as little as $0 down if the buyer meets certain requirements. Preferred credit scores should be at least 680.
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Getting Started
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STEP 2: Make a New Home Wish List
Use this step to narrow your search before you even get started.
Wish lists can include a little or a lot, but a few places to start include identifying your preferences regarding square footage, number of bedrooms, cabinetry, patios, siding, garage size, and more. When people search for communities to live in, they also consider onsite amenities, highway access, nearby schools, proximity to work, and more.
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STEP 3: Do your Homework Cities like Houston , Dallas/Fort Worth , and San Antonio are composed of a wide variety of neighborhoods and communities with distinct features and amenities, so you’ll want to research where you’d like to live and what you want to get out of your neighborhood. Consider school districts, nearby shopping options (including grocery stores), dining and nightlife spots, medical facilities, proximity to work, highway access, and plenty more. STEP 4: Consider an Inventory Home From wonky weather to supply chains and more, there are tons of factors that can a ect the time it takes to build a new home. By purchasing an inventory home, you can eliminate much of the variability in the homebuilding process from day to day and week to week because the homes are being constructed on a preset schedule. Not only that but selecting an inventory home gives you the opportunity to lock in current interest rates!
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STEP 5: Avoid Large Purchases & Additional Loans Don’t make any large purchases or take out any additional loans. This can include everything from buying a new car to financing a fresh mattress. These purchases may seem harmless, but any new loan transaction paid for in installments can impact your credit score , which can impact the interest rate on your home loan or even jeopardize your ability to qualify for the loan.
Purchasing your first home is a once-in-a-lifetime experience - It should be fun!
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As a good rule of thumb, anything that can impact your credit score should be avoided if you’re in the process of purchasing a home. This includes staying on time with existing loan payments, including for vehicles and student loans. STEP 6: Stay on Time with Payments
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If you’re ready to buy and you’ve done all the appropriate research, make a move! STEP 7: Don’t Wait if You Find Your Future Home The home you love today and think about tonight may be purchased today by the family who loved it yesterday and thought about it last night. While there are certainly elements of the process that can be stressful for some, ultimately, you’re laying the roots for your future. Take pleasure in making your wish list, envisioning the home where you’ll raise your children, start a new career in a new city, settle into retirement, or all the above. STEP 8: Have Fun!
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FINDING THE RIGHT HOME
As you search for your new home, consider the items you included on your wish list. Factors like ... Finding the Right Floorplan
Square footage Garage size Number of floors Bedrooms and bathrooms
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Kitchen + more!
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can be filtered during online home searches, which can greatly reduce your time spent combing through listings.
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Finding the Right Community
Finding the right floorplan is only one of two key considerations during your new home search. The other is community. Here are just a few factors worth keeping in mind:
How long is the commute? Are there any onsite amenities in the community?
Where’s the home located? What’s nearby? Grocery stores, daycare, schools?
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HOW BUYING A HOME WORKS
How Applying for a Home Loan Works
Pro Tip:
Work with your sales professional to fill out your mortgage application. Per Investopedia, this form typically includes information about the borrower(s) such as marital status, dependents, social security number, date of birth, current employer, income, and more. Loan applications also require applicants to submit information regarding financial assets, debts and liabilities, the loan amount, and property declarations.
Organize all relevant personal and financial information as soon as you can. The loan application process can move quickly, so it helps to have proper documentation sorted and ready to submit beforehand to e ciently move the process forward.
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Build Your Savings Regardless of where you fall on the 28% rule, purchasing a home requires cash on-hand for things like earnest money, down payments, and furnishings. As a result, it’s important to build up your savings even before you’re ready to buy a home. There are plenty of ways to save your hard-earned dollars, from cutting back on nice-to-haves to taking on extra work and more. Regardless, the key to saving money is to ensure that your expenses don’t exceed your income. Closing Costs Closing costs typically cover the cost of preparing your loan and the fees associated with your home’s title and appraisal. These vary by location and loan type, so make sure you work closely with your lender, sales professional, and REALTOR® (if applicable) to ensure you know how much you owe and when. How to Lock in an Interest Rate You will need to lock in an interest rate prior to closing on your home. There is no crystal ball to determine the ideal timeframe, but you will want to be in regular contact with your Loan O cer and your Home Sales representative to confirm that your closing takes place before your rate lock expires. Extending a rate lock could subject you to additional fees or a new interest rate, which would restart the underwriting process.
How Credit Scores Impacts Your Home Purchase Any drop or dip in your payment schedule could negatively impact your credit score, which could hurt your chances of landing a preferred rate. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on your credit score leading up to and during the homebuying process.
A few essential credit tracking resources include: • Experian • Equifax • Credit Karma • TransUnion
Impact of Tax Rates Property taxes vary widely across the state and within municipalities. Some have municipal utility districts (MUDs), some have public utility districts (PUDs), and some school districts are taxed higher. While taxes are not due until the end of the year, many customers opt to include taxes in their escrow payment rather than plan for a lump sum payment at the end of the year/near the holidays. One easy way to view a home’s potential tax rate is to use the Texas state sales tax rate locator , which allows you to see property taxes by address.
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Moving Preparation
An often-overlooked step in homebuying is packing up and moving once the home is ready. Use this list of tips and best practices to prepare for one of life’s most important move-ins! Utilities and Other Necessities There’s nothing worse than paying two energy bills! Make sure you’ve alerted all the appropriate utilities agencies before you move to ensure that you’ve both shut o supply at your previous residence and started service at your new one. This could include:
Local water provider Energy provider Natural gas provider Homestead exemption Internet/cable
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Another important reminder: If you’re currently renting either an apartment or home, make sure you give your landlord or leasing company appropriate notice of your move. If not, you could be in breach of contract and may owe penalties for early lease departures.
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Packing Tips
Everything needs to be properly packed before a move takes place. Believe it or not, there are some best practices that everyone needs to know prior to packing. They include:
Decide What Needs to Go (and What Doesn’t) Invest in Sturdy Boxes (if You Can) Use Soft Items for Extra Padding Label Your Boxes! Nest Items Together to Save Space
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That’s it! You’re finally ready to become a homeowner. With this added responsibility comes a sense of pride. Pride in your home. Pride in your e ort. Pride in your commitment to living life on your own terms. We’re here to help as you embark on this journey. Follow us on social media for homeowning tips, tricks, best practices, design ideas, and more. Plus, we’ve got a series of customer care videos that assist you with everything from prepping your home for the seasons to fixing a clog in your garbage disposal. Congratulations!
Legend Homes exists to open doors. Know that ours is always open to you, no matter what.
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