First Heritage Mortgage Celebrates National Homeownership Month with Resources for Achieving and Enjoying Homeownership

June is National Homeownership Month! To celebrate, we’ve put together this digest of our best resources for both achieving and enjoying homeownership.

Tips for Achieving Homeownership

Becoming a homeowner can feel like a lot of work. You’ve got to plan your finances, find the right area, and then settle on the perfect house. Luckily there are more programs and resources than ever before to help you along your journey.

Get started with these resources:

How to Find a First-Time Homebuyer Program

As you embark on your home buying journey, there are several parts of the process you may not have heard of before. That’s okay! In this post, we explore how first-time buyer programs can help alleviate the stresses and concerns that might prevent would-be homeowners from taking that leap into owning their own homes.

Why You Need a Real Estate Agent

If you’re looking to buy a house, chances are you’ve already started the process online. There are lots of platforms and services on the web today that make finding your new home easier and quicker than ever before. With all this information at your fingertips, you may wonder if you actually need a real estate agent to help you with the home buying process. Agents do more than you might realize, and their expertise will come in handy in today’s buying landscape.

What Happens During the Underwriting Process?

Underwriting is a key function of the lending process. During the process, experts research and assess the risk associated with your application. It helps protect lenders by assuring you can afford your new mortgage. You’ll get the highlights of what to expect here.

What is a Non-Warrantable Condo?

Condos are a great way to own a home without worrying about maintenance and upkeep of the exterior. An issue you may run into when searching for your dream condo is that it could be flagged as non-warrantable. Learn what that means and what your options are to finance a non-warrantable condo.

What Areas Qualify for a USDA Loan?

If you’re the type to prefer an up-and-coming suburb or a quiet rural community, a USDA mortgage loan may be the perfect way to get you there. A whopping 97% of the geographical U.S. is eligible for USDA home financing with only major metropolitan areas generally being excluded. Find out if this program could be your best financing option.

Cash to Close: What You Need to Know

As you approach the final stretch of the home buying process, one term you’ll get familiar with is cash to close. It refers to the out-of-pocket costs you’ll need to pay. We take a deeper dive into what you can expect when figuring out these upfront costs here.

Tips for Enjoying Homeownership

We understand that your homeownership journey doesn’t stop when buy your home. That’s why we regularly share ideas and knowledge that help you take advantage of your treasured space.

Check out these helpful homeownership tips:

How To Refresh Your Home and Create the Best Home Office

During the past year, many of us have revisited and evolved our home-office workspace expectations. As the return to offices begins, we will adjust to some lasting impacts. For some, the return will mark an embrace of flexible, hybrid models, with employees working from home some days and commuting into the office on others. Since home productivity seems here to stay, you’ve probably considered making some permanent home improvements to elevate your at-home workspace. This post will help you in that endeavor, focusing on four key aspects.

Get Your Back Yard Ready for Summer

Creating an awesome outdoor space adds value to your home, but more importantly, it allows you to take full advantage of your house and make great memories that you’ll cherish. You can go all out in making over your back yard or take a modest approach with improvements that will still elevate your experience. In this post, we share some inspiration for how to get your back yard ready for summer fun.

Remodeling Your Kitchen? Start Here.

The kitchen is the heart of any home. It’s where we cook, eat, converse, and entertain. From improving functionality, to upgrading fixtures and appliances, and everything in between, there are lots of reasons why you may be thinking about remodeling your kitchen. Here are our six useful steps for getting started on your next kitchen remodel.

Interior Design Color Theory: Everything You Need to Know About the 60-30-10 Rule

When it comes to decorating your home, it can be overwhelming. Having a color palette selected is important because it helps creates harmony, balance, and can even impact your mood. We will introduce you to the 60-30-10 color rule in this post. This design principle will help you create a cohesive look without being too excessive or bland.

Practical Renovations for the Best Feng Shui

Fill your home with positive Chi (energy) through the ancient Chinese practice of Feng Shui. This pseudoscientific tradition postulates that we are likely to lead positive, prosperous, and happy lives by integrating plants, organization, sufficient air flow, and natural light into our homes. Check out these 8 practical ways to utilize the principles of Feng Shui in your home.

How to Prep Your Home for a Hurricane

The last article we are highlighting is perhaps the most timely of all: getting prepared for hurricane season! It’s always better to be safe than sorry. With hurricane season already in effect, you’ll want to check through our 8 tips for storm preparedness.

We hope you’ve found these topics useful and relevant. We also invite you to visit the main page of our blog for weekly content throughout the year.