8 Step Home Buying Process
I love working with first time home buyers! Purchasing your first home is a huge accomplishment. A lot of the time I find my clients are misinformed when it comes to the home buying process and how it actually works so I am hoping this will help clear some things up. The more information you have the better your home buying experience will be.
Remember to always work with an agent who is committed to you!
Step 1: Find a great agent and commit
This is where the magic happens. You and your agent should be a team! A great agent always acts as your ultimate home buying resource and should be able to help every step of the way. They will listen closely to your needs and give you honest feedback based on their professional experience. You should feel comfortable directing your questions to your agent. If your agent does not have the answer right away, they will find it or point you in the right direction. Keep in mind that it is equally important that you are just as committed to your agent as your agent will be committed to you.
Step 2: Get Pre-Approved for a mortgage
You will want to contact a local bank or mortgage broker (mortgage loan originator) for your pre-approval. Your agent should be able to provide the names and contact information for brokers they have worked with and/or recommend if you are not sure what to do. Once you receive your pre-approval, it will tell you exactly what your budget is. Your mortgage broker or bank should always be able to provide you with estimates on what your monthly costs will be based on your pre-approval amount. This way you have a good gauge on how much you will spend. It is okay to shop around for the right lender. This is your home and this is a huge decision. There is a lot more information that I can squeeze in here, but we will go into detail in a later post.
Step 3: Search for the perfect home
This is the fun part! Buy this time you would have met with your realtor and obtained your pre-approval from your lender. You know exactly how much you can afford to spend on a home and you have expressed exactly what you are looking for! Your realtor will gather all of the information he/she has and will begin to search high and low for the perfect home. You will tour a few homes and once you find the right one, it's time to...
Step 4: Make an offer
Yes, things are getting pretty serious here. You have decided on a great home and you want to make an offer. Your agent will go over the offer process with you and have you review and sign the contract. We submit and wait for an acceptance or reply from the seller! Pretty exciting, isn't it?
Step 5: Inspections
Once your offer has been accepted you have a certain amount of time to conduct inspections. This is where you hire a certified home inspector to come in and look for anything that may be an issue down the line. Inspections are optional, however, I highly recommend you do one. That way, you have as much information you can about the home and can move forward with confidence.
Step 6: Appraisal
This is part of the closing process. Your bank/lender will send an appraiser out to your future home to asses its value. Based on multiple factors, they will come to a (market price, value, estimate). For example, you offer $450,000.00 for a home and the appraiser states it is worth $455,000.00. That just means the bank is willing to lend you the $450,000.00 because the home is worth it!
Step 7: Get your Keys
Finally, you are sitting at the closing table signing about 75 pages of paperwork! (Yes, there are quite a few papers to sign). Once you sign on the final dotted line, you can jump up and down, snap a picture for memories and head to your new home!
Step 8: THROW A HUGE PARTY!
No explanation needed here. Time to CELEBRATE! Congratulations, you just bought a home.
If you'd like to speak in depth about any of the steps I've outlined above, have questions, or if you are ready to start the home buying process, feel free to reach out to me! I am more than happy to help you change your life and get you into your new home!
Yasmine Bisumber, REALTOR
Licensed Real Estate Professional
Phone: (954) 744-0013
"How can I help you today?"
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