1. Find a Lender that you like, and you believe will do the best job for you. If they are any good, they will answer a lot of the questions you may have. You should feel comfortable with them, because they will be involved throughout.
2. Know how much you are comfortable with spending on your new home. The lender will pre-approve you for an amount, but you should only spend as much as you are comfortable with. You will have added expenses when owning your own home. (Taxes, insurance, repairs, bills, and more) In general a purchaser can afford 3 times their annual income, but the amount of debt you owe can decrease that amount. Ultimately you decide what you are willing to spend. You don't want to get into a loan or a home that you are always worried about.
3. Start saving as much as you can for a down payment and closing costs.
Down payments can be between 3.5% and 20% depending on the type of loan you get. Closing cost can vary depending on the type of loan, the mortgage company, the closing company, the binding contract, and other circumstances. Closing cost can range from 1% to as high as 7%.
Once you get your ducks in a row with the finance aspect, and get all the necessary paperwork for the mortgage company. The fun stuff can begin to happen.
1. List all your wants in your new home. Then you want to number them in order of importance. If you ask for my buyers packet I have a paper that will help you list them.
2. Find a Realtor.
3. Look at homes that meet your criteria. You will probably look at several before finding the "ONE".
4. Go over the disclosures.
5. Make an offer on the home and put up earnest money.
6. You could go through any number of counter offers depending on yourself and the sellers. This is why you should have a Realtor negotiating the process for you.
7. Come to a legally binding contract.
That was the fun part. Now is the time where you wait, and if you have a Realtor they can make this time go more smoothly.
Your Realtor will be working very hard for you during this time, but you may not know all the behind the scene details.
1. Set-up the inspections. You will need a termite inspection, a home inspection, and if you would like other inspections you may do so. You have a time reference date in which to have the inspections completed.
2. Go through the inspections and decide which items to have included in the repair cap. If you go over the amount of the repair cap, this is an area of negotiation between you and the sellers.
3. Find an insurance agent. You may want to go through the same company as your cars are with, you might get a discount if you bundle them together. Call around and get quotes.
4. As a buyer you are really just waiting for the items to be repaired, home to be appraised, title work to be cleared, and underwriting of the loan. This time can seem to take forever, but with a good Realtor on your side you will be informed every step of the way.
If every step is successful, you will be sitting at the closing table on a very special day. You will be a proud owner of a house that you will make a Home for you or somebody else!
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