If you are interested in Belmont the first thing you should do is contact me. I am a Belmont native and own my own small realty firm in the community. My first month in Business I was responsible for the listing and selling of over $3,000,000 in the Belmont Community. Like Bill mentioned earlier contacting a mortgage broker is important. It is not however as important as contacting the right one. I will be able to give you the name of a local mortgage broker who you can contact at Prime Solutions. They are located in Main St. Belmont. My Home is located 5 minutes from the mortgage company I prefer to use.

Belmont is a great area and Gaston County is the next Charlotte-region boom area as builders are pouring millions into projects along that I-85 and West Blvd. corridors. Of course, meet with a mortgage banker that is licensed to lend in NC and then sit down with an agent who will take the time to go through understanding your needs, wants, and desires and share with you about the market here. This is as important step as the agent you choose will most likely not know you from Adam so getting to know you first and your goals helps to put you both on the same page.

Also, its important for them to share with you about what's happening in the market regionally and specifically in Belmont. Overall, our market is very healthy as we're sustaining an 8% appreciation year over year in spite of the mortgage hurdles. There are pockets of foreclosure activity but no where near the levels being experienced in cities of our size and that is one of the many why we're appreciating while others are stagnant or on the decline.

Understand too that we here don't have transactional brokers like you guys have in Florida and that's important to know exactly who's looking out for you.

Finally in your first steps, find a good website to search for real estate on. Trulia is great but it doesn't represent all of the listings available in eastern Gaston county. My site and others feature listings as they are updated daily and can notify you of a new listing that matches your criteria. That helps save you time.

Remember to interview a few agents to find one that works well with you. Its is our priviledge to assist you, not a burden on you or your agent. Hope this helps.

Bill is right, you should speak with a mortgage broker to get an idea of what kind of loans are available, what price range you qualify for, and exactly how much you will need for a down payment. Don't forget about closing costs and inspection fees.

Make sure that you do get a buyer's agent. It will not cost anything and you will have someone in your corner to make things go smoothly.

I would be happy to refer you to an agent in that area!

Good Luck.

I would say get Pre-Approved for a mortgage about that yieds a payment within your budget. Then get a referral to a buyer's agent. Let me know if you want me to help in either or both steps.