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FOR BUYERS

10 Steps to Find and Finance the Perfect Home

Buying a house requires a lot of time and effort, but these 10 steps can help make the home buying process manageable and help you make the best decisions possible.

STEP ONE

START YOUR RESEARCH EARLY

As soon as you can, start reading Web sites that have real estate listings. Make a note of homes you are interested in and see how long they stay on the market. Also, note any changes in asking prices. This will give you a sense of the housing trends in specific areas.  Contact us to schedule an educational professional consultation regarding the home buying process.  Then, we can connect you with our network of professional real estate agents and knowledgeable loan professionals.

STEP TWO

DETERMINE HOW MUCH HOUSE YOU CAN AFFORD

Lenders generally recommend that people look for homes that cost no more than three to five times their annual household income if the home buyers plan to make a 20% down payment and have a moderate amount of other debt.  During your complimentary consultation, we will provide you with the tools necessary to discover the right price for you.  We are experts in closing costs.  During your complimentary consultation, we will guide you through closing costs you can expect and plan for.  

STEP THREE

GET PREQUALIFIED AND PRE APPROVED CREDIT FOR YOUR MORTGAGE

Before you start looking for a home, you will need to know how much you can spend. The best way to do that is to get prequalified for a mortgage. To get prequalified, you just need to provide some financial information to your mortgage banker, such as your income and the amount of savings and investments you have. Your lender will review this information and tell you how much they can lend you. This will tell you the price range of the homes you should be looking at. Later, you can get preapproved for credit, which involves providing your financial documents (W-2 statements, paycheck stubs, bank account statements, etc.) so your lender can verify your financial status and credit.

STEP FOUR

FIND THE RIGHT REAL ESTATE AGENT

Real estate agents are important partners when you’re buying or selling a home. Real estate agents can provide you with helpful information on homes and neighborhoods that isn’t easily accessible to the public. Their knowledge of the home buying process, negotiating skills, and familiarity with the area you want to live in can be extremely valuable. And best of all, it doesn’t cost you anything to use an agent – they’re compensated from the commission paid by the seller of the house.  We can connect you with our network of real estate professionals and help you make the best selection for your real estate needs.

STEP FIVE

SHOP FOR YOUR HOME AND MAKE AN OFFER

Start touring homes in your price range. It might be helpful to take notes on all the homes you visit. Make sure to check out the little details of each house. Then work with your real estate agent to negotiate a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes in the same neighborhood. Once you and the seller have reached agreement on a price, the house will go into escrow, which is the period it takes to complete all the remaining steps in the home buying process.

STEP SIX

GET A HOME INSPECTION

Typically, purchase offers are contingent on a home inspection of the property to check for signs of structural damage or things that may need fixing. Your real estate agent will help you arrange to have this inspection conducted within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller. This contingency protects you by giving you a chance to renegotiate your offer or withdraw it without penalty if the inspection reveals significant material damage.

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You can then decide if you want to ask the seller to fix anything on the property before closing the sale. Before the sale closes, you will have a walk-through of the house, which gives you the chance to confirm that any agreed-upon repairs have been made.

STEP SEVEN

WORK WITH A MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER TO SELECT YOUR LOAN

Lenders have a wide range of competitively priced loan programs and a reputation for exceptional customer service. You will have many questions when you are purchasing a home, and having one of our experienced, responsive network of mortgage bankers can make the process much easier.  Every home buyer has their own priorities when choosing a mortgage. Some are interested in keeping their monthly payments as low as possible. Others are interested in making sure that their monthly payments never increase. And still others pick a loan based on the knowledge they will be moving again in just a few years.

STEP EIGHT

HAVE THE HOME APPRAISED

Lenders will arrange for an appraiser to provide an independent estimate of the value of the house you are buying. The appraiser is a member of a third-party company and is not directly associated with the lender. The appraisal will let all the parties involved know that you are paying a fair price for the home.

STEP NINE

COORDINATE THE PAPERWORK

As you can imagine, there is a lot of paperwork involved in buying a house. At Title&Ink, we will handle all the paperwork and make sure that the seller is the rightful owner of the house you are buying.  Next, we will help you select the best title insurance policy to meet your needs and protect your investment.  

STEP TEN

CLOSE THE SALE

At closing, we will guide you through the process of signing all the paperwork required to complete the purchase, including your loan documents. Once closing has taken place-you are ready to move into your new home!

STEP ONE
STEP TWO
STEP THREE
STEP FOUR
STEP FIVE
STEP SIX
STEP SEVEN
STEP 8
STEP 9
STEP 10
BUYING A HOUSE?

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