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The Home Buying Process: An Overview

Reblogger
Real Estate Agent with Charles Stallions Real Estate Services Inc

Gulf Breeze, Florida: I am continuing my articles on different real estate topics beneficial to Pensacola Investors, home buyers and sellers. This weeks topic is on buying a New Home in Pensacola, Pace, Gulf Breeze, Florida.      I hope you find this series to be educational as well as informative. Did you know that we can negotiate extras that builders do not make readily available when buying on site, as much as $15,000.  Call Joyce Kelley 800-309-3414 or E-mail joyce@charlesstallions.com. To view short sales, foreclosures and homes in  Pensacola, Pace or Gulf Breeze, Florida Click Here.

Original content by Jen Olson

You know you want to buy a home.  Now what?  It's a question most first time home buyers find themselves asking.  Knowing what steps there are to get you from wanting to buy a home to owning a home will give you comfort and confidence.  The following is an overview of the home buying process.

 •1)        Find a lender:  This will be the first thing that you want to do.  You will want to talk with a lender about the various financing options available and get preapproved.  When talking with your lender, be sure that you are honest about your finances and what your monthly budget is.  If you are not comfortable doing this, than you need to find a different lender that you are at ease with.  The lender will help you determine what price range will best fit your family, based not just on your income, but also on your personal lifestyle and budget.

•2)       Interview Agents:  Once you have gotten your financing preapproved, you will want to find an agent to work with.  Working with one real estate agent throughout the process will benefit you greatly.  You will want to interview a few agents to determine which agent you are most comfortable with and which seems best suited for you and your needs. 

•3)       Viewing Homes:  Now that you have chosen an agent to work with, you will want to sit down with them and discuss your needs vs. wants in a home.  The agent will then search for homes that best fit what you are looking for and begin setting up showings for you to view them.  Remember there is not a magic number of homes that you need to look at before you make a decision!

•4)       Writing an Offer:  You have found "the one", and now it's time to sit down with your agent and write an offer to purchase the home.  This is where you will offer a purchase price, ask for any items that you would like included in the purchase, determine when you would like to close, and list any contingencies (conditions) to buying the home.  Once you write the offer, your agent will give it to the listing agent to present to the sellers.

•5)       Negotiating the Offer:  Once your offer to purchase has been presented to the sellers, there are four things that the sellers can do.  They can accept your offer, reject your offer, counter your offer, or accept a competing offer, if one exists.  It's important to remember that the sellers are not required to negotiate and they can accept a competing offer at any point prior to accepting yours. 

•6)       Accepted Offer:  Congratulations!  You have negotiated an accepted offer on your soon to be new home.  Now you will need to stay on track with your contingency deadlines.  You will want to schedule any inspections or testing that you wrote into the offer, as well as get in touch with your lender.  Your lender will get your appraisal scheduled and let you know if there is any additional information that they may need from you.  You will also want to talk with your insurance agent and get your homeowners insurance set up.  Your real estate agent should help you stay on schedule with your deadlines and keep in contact with your lender.

•7)       Closing:  A day or two prior to closing on the house and becoming official homeowners, you will want to schedule a final walk through with your agent.  You will want to go back through the house to be sure that any items that were agreed to be included in the purchase are there, as well as checking to see that the condition of the home is in as good of condition as when the offer was accepted.  The day of closing you will meet with your lender and go over all of your mortgage paperwork.  If you have any questions, now is the time to ask!  Once you have signed your loan documents, it is time to sign the paperwork transferring ownership to you.  Normally you will do all of this either at the bank or at a local title company.

 This is a general overview of the home buying process.  Each circumstance is different, which is why it is so important to work with an agent that is knowledgeable and you trust.  

Comments (3)

Aaron Majors
Portland Realty Hub LLC - Portland, OR
CNE. Principle Broker

Thank You so much for such a good over view Joyce =)

Mar 09, 2010 03:17 PM
MaryBeth Mills Muldowney
TradeWinds Realty Group LLC - Braintree, MA
Massachusetts Broker Owner

wonderful concise overview, many thanks, mbm

Mar 09, 2010 03:20 PM
Charles Stallions
Charles Stallions Real Estate Services - Pensacola, FL
850-476-4494 - Pensacola, Pace or Gulf Breeze, Fl.

Thanks for sharing and all the best of luck this year, happy selling

Jul 23, 2013 01:46 PM