If you are a first-time home buyer in the Sarasota, Bradenton or Lakewood Ranch area of Florida, this is a great time and a great real estate market for you because:

• You don't have a home you need to sell first, perhaps at a loss, and that makes you an attractive client to a Realtor and an very attractive buyer to a home seller
• Mortgage interest rates are as about low as they have ever been and it is highly unlikely they'll go any lower in the future, and
• Sarasota area homes are now more affordable than they have been in a decade.

    However, buying a home is a fairly complex process. Doing it successfully takes planning and effort. The process, however, is much less stressful if you take advantage of the knowledge and guidance of a professional Realtor.

    Here is a 10-step process that will assure you accomplish your goal of buying as your first home, a property that optimally meets your needs and wishes at the best possible price without unnecessary stress.

1. Buy a Notebook and get organized. Use this notebook exclusively for planning your first home purchase. First, summarize in writing the type of home and type of neighborhood you would like to find. Do you prefer a ranch-style home, or a bi-level, tri-level, or two-story home. How about a duplex where you can rent the other half. Or would you be more comfortable in a condominium ? Do you want a small lot to maintain, no exterior maintenance at all, or a large lot of land; in or close to the center city or in a more rural area?
   
   Next, write down those things you REALLY NEED TO HAVE in the home for it to meet your needs for the next 7 - 10 years. Also list five or more things you’d REALLY LIKE TO HAVE.
   
   Use this notebook with its Needs and Wants Lists as a guide to judge every home you visit whether it’s a model home, an open house or part of a tour a Realtor has arranged for you. Use it also to make notes of home features you see that you particularly like or dislike.
   
   
2. Understand how much home you can afford. Make a budget to pinpoint how much you believe you are willing and able to pay for your new home given your other financial obligations. As a “rule of thumb,” keeping your monthly total housing cost to 25% to 35% of your gross monthly income is a good place to start.
   
   
3. Meet with more than mortgage lender. You need to know how your credit rating will affect the interest rate you can achieve. You may find that you need to pay off some outstanding debts before getting serious about house huntin. Collect all the information you can from each lender. Then, compare their interest rates, closing costs and all other terms of the loans they propose. Learn how much down payment will be required and the maximum amount each would lender would loan you based upon your income, credit rating and other current obligations. Ask each lender for at least a pre-qualification statement. When you are reasonably certain sure which lender you would prefer, ask for a pre-approval letter which you can attach to any offer you might make. Having a pre-approval letter already in place is a powerful price negotiating tool when you're ready to make an offer.
   
   
4. Introduce yourself to an experienced, full-time Realtor with whom you feel comfortable. Ask him or her to act on your behalf as your "Buyer's Agent." Only when acting as your Buyer's Agent is a Realtor required to work for your benefit and yours alone. The Realtor whose name is on a for sale sign, at an open house or a sales representative at a model home is NOT looking out for your best interests. They are working for and looking out for the Seller, not you. There is even a special designation earned by some Realtors like Brian Ward called the Accredited Buyer Representative (or ABR) designation. This designation is earned only by Realtors who have demonstrated extra experience and skill in dealing with home buyers.
   
   
5. Your Buyer's Agent Realtor will help you further understand your housing options and after reviewing your Needs and Wants List" explain how your list can best be fulfilled given the real estate market of homes for sale in your preferred neighborhoods. He or she will then research the best home values and neighborhoods that meet your criteria and provide you with a list of the homes currently for sale that best fit your criteria.
   
   
6. With or without your Realtor, visit those neighborhoods that fall within your price range and identify the two or three neighborhoods you would most like to live in. This step will save both you and your Realtor a lot of wasted time. It may also help you to further refine your Needs and Wants Lists. After this step, you may want to sit with your Realtor again and adjust your Needs and Wants Lists and make changes to your priorities of needs versus wants, if necessary. Remember that your Lists are only as useful as you kept them in touch with the realities of your situation. It is natural to have started out with higher expectations than reality will allow, so do not be embarrassed or concerned if your Lists change somewhat at this point.
   
   
7. If you want to include "Short Sale" and "Foreclosure" homes in your search, be sure you fully understand how these procedures work (or in many cases, don't) and the amount of time those processes can take. Your Realtor can explain the process by which these types of transactions occur and clarify for you the pros and cons of both of these home buying processes versus a normal purchase transaction.
   
   
8. Now get out there and get going. The most desirable homes at the most attractive prices don't sit on the market for long, even in today's marketplace.
   
   There are wonderful homes for sale in the Sarasota and bradenton Florida area at very attractive prices, but you need to be ready to act when you find the one you want. Your Needs and Wants Lists, that you've hopefully kept up to date, will help you know when "this is the home for us."
   
   
9. Work with your Buyer's Agent Realtor to decide upon your offer price. Your Realtor will help you by analyzing comparable properties in comparable neighborhoods to decide on an appropriate offering price. If you were able to secure a pre-approval letter from a lender, make sure it is still in effect, and attach it to your offer.
   
   
10. Work through the multi-step contract-to-closing process. This process will include a home inspection, finalizing you mortgage application, and several other steps all of which your Buyer's Agent Realtor and your lender will help you with.
    
    

    Eventually, at the closing, you will sign more papers than you'd ever imagined possible. But then, you will be ready to move into your first home. Congratulations are definitely in order !!