First time home buyers: What to expect

Are you considering buying your first home? Where do you start? What do you expect?  Here are the steps of  buying your first home:

·        Contact a Mortgage Loan officer to determine your credit worthiness and maximum home purchase price; You can also contact a Realtor, who can provide a small list of reputable mortgage lenders.

·        Once you have your pre-approval letter from your lender, you can start to view homes with your Realtor.
·        When you find your dream home, you will submit an offer to purchase (with the help of your Realtor), which can be accepted or countered by the seller.
·        After all parties have agreed on pricing and terms, you now have a fully executed contract!  Within the first 5 days after acceptance of offer, you must submit the Earnest Money (usually $1,000 via Certified Funds), conduct a home inspection with a licensed Home Inspector, and have your real estate attorney review the purchase contract to amend if needed.
·        Your mortgage lender will have you submit an application for mortgage financing, where you will gather financial information such as employment info, bank statements, w-2’s, etc.  Your home mortgage lender may also ask for appraisal fees upfront, at your expense.
·        Before closing, a final walk-thru will be performed on the home to make sure it’s in the same condition when inspected and broom cleaned.
·        Closing on the home will take roughly 45 days with financing, and 14 days for Cash deals.

I hope the steps above were helpful.  Please feel free to contact me for more information.

 

Happy house hunting!!!