Preparing to Buy
You've saved for your down payment, you've searched endlessly on-line, you've driven neighborhoods and visited open houses and now your ready to pull the trigger and make an offer on your next home. If it's your first time buying a home, you may be wondering what do you do next?
1. Select an agent to represent you as a buyer.
Buying a home can be a confusing and emotionally exhausting process, make sure you have a full time real estate professional on your team that's been through the process many times and knows how to navigate the hurdles that can often arise. Having an experienced agent in your side will help negotiate the best purchase price possible and keep your purchase on track with inspections, ongoing negotiations and contract timelines.
2. Pre-Qualify with a trusted lender!
This is a critical step since your mortgage professional is going to help you determine how much you qualify for and what price range you should be looking at based on your income, expenses, credit and how much your comfortable spending each month for your home. Many lenders will now do a fully underwritten buyer approval with the only condition being the property itself. This is about as solid as you can get without being an all cash buyer. If you have not yet selected a lender to help you with financing, I am happy to provide my trusted lending resources to get you started. You are always encouraged to shop around to find the rate, loan program and lender that works best for you.
**Important: DO NOT make any significant purchases on credit from the time you apply for a loan to the time your new home closes escrow! The lender will check your credit on multiple occasions during the transaction process and additional utilization of credit could raise your Debt-To-Income ratio**
3. Find your home.
We will work tirelessly to help you find just the right home that meets as many of your wants and needs as possible in the price range you are looking. Once your offer is accepted, escrow will open and a series of timelines will begin. We'll will guide you through the entire process from start to finish, keeping you on top of deadlines and let you know what to expect based on the particular details of the transaction.