Free guide for first time homebuyer's

Wells Fargo is offering up a guide for first time homebuyer's, which comes chock full of information and explanations of the many terms associated with getting your first mortgage. The guide is free but does require that you hand over your email address to Wells Fargo. It covers the rent or buy question, real costs of ownership, mortgage and loan types as well as help on choosing a real estate agent. Just like the rent or own calculator we shared last week, this is a great tool to add to your arsenal before you head out to buy a home.

The guide is definitely geared towards the benefits of owning a home, but I am impressed that it points out that in certain cases, renting makes more sense. I don't care for the guider's description of home ownership as "Owning your own home is like having a savings account that you can live in." as that seems to be part of the problem individuals are currently experiencing with the current lending crisis. The guide even offers up a selection of the ways to find money to use for your down-payment, including using a forced savings account or selling unused items, to name a few. The guide also details interesting places you can find funds such as down-payment assistance programs or borrowing against your 401k. The latter being something I wouldn't recommend doing.

As a current renter looking to purchase in the near future I have found this guide to be a very good primer. While i still have some questions about becoming a first time homeowner, I have a few more ideas about what to ask friends and family regarding our first mortgage.The information about choosing a home and a real estate agent are also really useful for me as the right agent can make a huge difference.