The Home-Buying Process

There are 5 basic steps involved in the home-buying process:

1.

"Get Approved"

It is best to get pre approved for a mortgage before you start looking for your new home. You accomplish two important goals in doing this. First, you will know the price range of the home you are looking for and how much the monthly payment will be. Second, it tells the prospective seller that you can afford to buy their home. A pre approved buyer holds leverage during the negotation process with the seller.

2.

"The Find"

Now that you know the price range of the home you are looking for, it is time to start searching for a home that suits your needs. It is important to keep an open mind when looking at prospective homes. The color of the paint or carpet can always be changed to suit your taste. You can add tile or wood to the floors, new hardware to the cabinets to change the look of the home. It is important to focus on the structure (floorplan), total square feet of living space, and school systems in the area of the home. A knowledgable realtor is very important to help lead you through this decision process.

3.

"Making the Offer"

Congratulations! You have found your perfect new home! Now it is time to present the seller with an offer to purchase their home. This is a critical part of the home buying process and a skilled agent is best at presenting the sellers with an offer. This can be very difficult & time consuming. If there are things that need to be repaired or items in the home that you want to be left (appliances, window treatments, pool equipment, etc.) should be relayed to your agent so that they can negotiate this with the seller. Since you are pre approved, you have more leverage to accomplish this.

4.

"Inspections"

Once your realtor has successfully negotiated a contract between you and the seller, various inspections of the home will have to be done to protect you the buyer. These inspections include termite, radon, building & title search. You will also need to arrange for homeowners insurance and finalize your mortgage. Your realtor will help to make this complicated process smooth sailing!

5.

"The Closing"

The final step! Your realtor will set up a date & time and communicate with you everything that will be needed at your closing. After all of the paperwork is signed....you and your family are proud new homeowners!

I hope that I have been able to answer all of your questions concerning the home buying process. If you have any other specific things you need to know about, please visit my "Contact Me" link and I will be more than happy to go over them with you.