The 11 Steps to Buying a

Home

Created by Paul Biagini

Do your researchAs soon as you decide that you are ready tobuy a house the first thing you should do islook at real estate listings. Make a note of

any houses that catch your eye. Start tofigure out what style home you’d like andhow much that typically goes for. See how

long houses that you’re interested in stay onthe market for so that you can get an idea of

the housing trends in the area you arelooking in. This stage is very preliminary and

will help you begin your search.

Know your budgetGenerally, if you plan on making a 20% down payment andhave a moderate amount of other debt, lenders recommendthat homebuyers don’t look at houses that cost more than

three to five times their annual household income. However,how much you choose to spend on your home in relation to

your income and how much you have saved up is your decisionthat is based on your own unique financial situation. If you are

thinking about buying a home be sure to spend some timesaving up before hand.

Get a mortgage prequalified

and preapprovedPart of your budget will include your mortgage. The onlyway to truly know how much you can spend is by getting

prequalified. All you have to do is provide somefinancial information, such as your income and theamount of savings that you have, to your mortgage

banker and they will tell you how much the bank canloan you. After you are prequalified, you can provide

your mortgage banker with your financial documents,such as your W-2 statements, paycheck stubs, etc., sothat your lender can verify your financial status and

credit and so you can get preapproved for credit.

Find a real estate agent

Getting a real estate agent whoknows the area that you want to

move to is the most important thingto help you successfully, quickly, and

easily find your future home. Realestate agents have the knowledgeand experience of the home buyingprocess to help you through every

step of the process.

Look at homesAs soon as your real estate agentcomes back to you with homes foryou to check out that are in yourprice range go and do it. Be sureto take notes on and pictures ofall the houses that you visit tohelp you remember everythingafter you leave. Most likely, youwill see a lot of houses and you

won’t be able to remembereverything about all of them.

Make an offerOnce you are sure that you have found theperfect home, work with your real estate

agent to make an offer that is fair based onthe value of comparable homes in the sameneighborhood and is within your budget. Assoon as you and the seller have reached anagreement on the price, the house will gointo escrow, which is the period of timethat it takes to complete the remaining

steps in the process.

Get a home inspectionTypically, a sale won’t become official until an

inspection of the home is completed to check for

signs of structural damage or things that may

need to be fixed. As the buyer you are protected

by this contingency because it gives you a

chance to renegotiate or withdraw your offer

without any penalty if the inspection reveals that

there is a significant amount of damage to the

home. When the inspection is complete both you

and the seller will receive a report on the home

inspectors findings. At this point, you can

request for the seller to fix anything on the

property before closing the sale.

Have the house appraised

The bank will arrange for an appraiser, who is a member of a thirdparty company and is not directly associated with the bank, tocheck out the house and estimate the value of it. This will let all

parties know that you are paying a fair price for the home.

Get insuranceBuying a house is an expensive

undertaking. Spending some moneyon insurance can save you from a

disaster if something goes wrong.

Complete the paperwork

There is a lot of paperworkinvolved in buying a home. Yourreal estate agent will help walk

you through everything and makesure that you sign everywhere youare supposed to. Additionally, your

bank will hire a title company toensure that the seller is therightful owner of the house.

Complete the saleWhen you are closing a deal you

finish signing all of the paperworkrequired to complete the

transaction, including your loandocuments. Typically, it takes a

few days for your loan to befunded after the bank receivesyour paperwork. Once the seller

receives the check, you haveofficially bought a house and are

able to move into your new home!