Five Steps to Purchase Your Home
Secure Your Mortgage Approval
In order to have Mortgage Approval you will need to work with a Mortgage Professional. It pays to speak with more than one Mortgage Company. Once you've chosen the company, the Loan Officer will determine an amount you can safely afford in a house, pre-approve you and prepare a letter that tells the seller you are approved.
Define What You Are Looking For
Determine your purchasing timeframe. Are you two months, three months, six months or two years away from purchase? Are you planning to purchase a New Home, something that is older in a Single Family, or perhaps a condo or townhouse? Do you want a country setting or perhaps you may want to live by the Metro. Determine what you are looking for in purchasing a home.
Visit Several Properties
Remember, you are not bothering your agent when you ask him/her to show you homes. Any agent should be willing to show you several - helping to fine tune your search as you go along. Take notes about the homes you see. When you think you've found a house that might be the one, ask your Realtor to slow down and let you spend additional time in the home. Perhaps a second walk thru would even be in order.
Make an Offer
When you've found the right home, your agent will guide you in putting together an offer. This consists of how much you want to offer the seller, your earnest money deposit, previewing any disclosures and any contingencies that are involved such as inspections, possession, etc.. Once the offer is sent to the seller's agent they will have a specific time frame to respond. Often there will be a counter offer and your agent will guide you through any negotiating that needs to occur, if indeed you want to counter. When both you and the seller have come to an agreement and all signatures are complete you have a contract but perhaps with some contingencies.
Meet Your Contingency Deadlines
Once your offer is accepted several items are on strict timetables. You will need to act quickly to meet all of the contingencies within the given time frames. You will need to set up the inspection to be completed within the time period stated in your contract. Whatever contingency is in the contract must be met on time - NO EXCEPTIONS!