1. Find an Agent

So you’re thinking of buying a home? Congratulations!!! You’re on the road to making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. Many buyers jump right in and are unprepared or uncertain about their requirements and/entire process. This is where we come in. We are here for you to make the process as smooth and seamless as possible. To get started, you will want to set up an initial consultation. This is when you can meet us, set expectations, discuss your wants and needs in a home and we will go through the home buying process in-depth.

2. Financials

Before doing anything you will want to evaluate your finances and credit scores. Loan down payments can range from as low as 0% down to over 20% down. Lenders may be able to work with credit scores in the low 600s. You will also want to consider saving up for closing costs as well. Feel free to play around with the mortgage calculator to estimate a budget.

Pre-approval

Unless you plan on buying with cash, one of the next steps in the home buying process is meeting with a lender. If you don’t have a lender, we will be able to give you some guidance on some lenders to meet with. A lender will look at your credit score, your debt to income ratio, and your other financials to determine your buying capability. Based on this information, they can tell you if you are ready to buy or have a little more work to do. If you are ready to buy, they will tell you how much home you can afford, what type of loan you are qualified for and what your monthly payments will be. It is important to know what type of loan you are qualified for because this will help narrow down your home search. Government loans, such as FHA, USDA and VA have stricter guidelines and not all homes will qualify for this type of loan. A conventional loan has less restrictions and more homes will qualify for this type of loan.

Documents and information you need for getting a preapproval

• Proof of income/employment (30 Days of pay statements)
• Bank statements (60 Days)
• Two prior year W2 forms
• Social security cards, valid ID such as drivers license
• Good credit score 640 or higher some loans can be approved
  with a 620
• Most Recent 401k or 403b statement (only if applicable)

3. House Shopping

Once you have your pre-approval we can then start a search on the MLS (multi list service) that will have updated information about homes that are available in your area. It is important to stay within your budget because in a heated market, most homes are selling for over asking. Search with an open mind and realize you may not get everything to fit your list perfectly. We go with the 80/20 rule. 80% of the home will meet your need and 20% of the home you will change. Generally the 20% includes things like paint, flooring, hardware, etc.

4. Offer

Congratulations!!! You have submitted an offer and after negotiations with the seller, it has been accepted. This is what we call the pending contract period. During this time, we will provide you an outline and a timeline of what must happen in order to close. Contract periods can range anywhere from a week to two for cash buyers and generally 30-45 days for buyers who have applied for a mortgage.

5. Inspections

During this period, You will want to set up inspections and plan to attend. Any negotiations for repairs, or price adjustments based on inspections (if needed) are made. It is important to note that an inspection is not required but highly recommended. Since it isn’t required, it is a cost the buyer incurs.

6. Appraisal

If you’re getting a loan, your lender will set up an appraisal to be done on your behalf with the costs already being included as part of your closing costs. The final appraisal amount could result in three possible scenarios: 1) Price comes in at or above purchase price (Yay! You already have equity in your new home), 2) price comes in below purchase price and allows room for renegotiation of purchase price 3) If unable to come to an agreement on purchase price with the seller, the contract may be terminated.

7. Preparing for closing

Throughout this period, your lender will be asking for lot of documentation and paperwork to get the loan approved. Once the lender has all the documentation they need, you will receive a clear to close from underwriting. You can then schedule your closing date and time, begin transferring utilities to your new address and have a final walk through of the home to make sure any requested repairs were completed. On closing day, you will usually meet at the title office with funds in hand, a valid id and sign a lot of docs. Finally, you get the keys!!! YAY!!!

8 things NOT to do between your date of getting preapproved and your closing

• Don’t buy a new car or trade-up to a bigger lease
• Don’t quit your job to change industries or start a new company
• Don’t switch from a salaried job to a heavily-commissioned job
• Don’t transfer large sums of money between bank accounts
• Pay your bills on time — even the ones in dispute
• Don’t open new credit card accounts
• Don’t accept a cash gift that will be deposited into your account
  without filling out the proper gift letter (you can get this from your
  lender)
• Don’t make random, undocumented cash deposits into your
  bank account