If you're a first-time buyer, it can feel exciting and overwhelming on where to start the home buying process. Even if you're an experienced home buyer, it can be confusing when you're trying to keep up with ever-changing real estate markets, rules and regulations. Therefore, we've created a general flow of how to buy a house to explain the major steps.
CALL REALTORS
Your real estate broker will consult with you to analyze and prioritize your home buying needs. Use our handy house hunting checklist to list what's most important to you.
SHOP AROUND FOR A LENDER
Talk to loan officers to find out the type of loan(s) that you can qualify for, and what their rates/fees cost. After you choose a lender, you'll receive a pre-approval letter so you'll know how much house you can afford.
FIND YOUR DREAM HOME
You'll receive properties that match your search criteria and tours for the homes that you're interested in seeing.
SUBMIT AN OFFER
Once you've found a house, we'll help you negotiate a fair offer based on recent comparable homes and attractive terms from market trends.
ACCEPTED OFFER
Hooray! Now it's time to start the closing process. We'll walk you through each step.
EARNEST MONEY
Wire or drop off a certified check for your good faith deposit into an escrow account. A title company, real estate brokerage, or law firm can hold the funds until closing.
HOME INSPECTION
Hire a home inspector to check the home's condition. If there are major issues per the purchase agreement, we'll submit a counter-offer to make sure that the investment that you're buying will be around for years.
MORTGAGE APPLICATION
VERIFICATION
Your loan officer will verify your credit score, employment income, assets, and debts for the loan application. Be prepared to submit these documents and contacts. Double check that everything is accurate, spelled correctly and matches across all the documents so there won't be any delays.
APPRAISAL
The appraisal is the lender's verification of the property, its condition, and market value.
LOAN UNDERWRITING
The mortgage company may have conditions before approving the loan. We'll go back to the negotiation table with the sellers to see what we can do to get the underwriters to approve the loan.
TIE UP LOSE ENDS
You're on the home stretch! You should be receiving the Home Owner's Association Covenants, Codes & Restrictions, and a list of utility providers to start transferring utilities/ service providers into your name. If you haven't done so already, it's also a good time to get homeowner's insurance quotes and moving quotes.
TITLE COMPANY
TITLE SEARCH
The title company verifies that the sellers received the home's title legitimately and that it's free and clear to transfer to the buyers.
TITLE INSURANCE
If no issues are found, the title company will issue title insurance to cover any issues that appear after possession.
FINAL LOAN APPROVAL
Once financing is approved, your agent will contact you to schedule the closing date, time, and location. You'll also schedule your final walk-thru which is typically right before closing.
GET THE KEYS!
At closing, you will sign all the paperwork to complete your home purchase. Congratulations!
Download a copy of our Home Buying Process Chart for your convenience!