I am a first time buyer and I don't know what I need to do to buy in Marion Ar

I am a first time buyer and I don't know what I need to do to buy in Marion Ar

I have been getting quite a few calls like this lately, many first time buyers are planning to buy their new home during tax return season.  They all have one question in common, "I am a first time buyer, I don't know anything about buying a house, what do I need to do first?"

Basic, simple and straight forward question, and the answer is just the same way,

1. Talk to a lender first.  You can't buy unless you know you can borrow a loan to buy, right?  This step is called getting a loan pre-approval.  The lender will need your social security number/card, recent 2 years of tax return (W-2), recent 2-3 months pay stub, recent 2-3 months check stub, driver license.  Your lender will run your credit report to see if you have at least 620 credit score, if there is anything on your report may prevent you from getting a mortgage loan, anything the lender needs you to take care of or not.
2. There are at least 3 types of NO DOWN PAYMENT loan program for first time buyers to buy in Marion, Ar. You still need to prepare to pay for something out of your own pocket.  They will be Earnest Money, Home Inspection Money, Appraisal Money.  So, don't use up that tax return check, because you will need some of it. How much?
3. Once you know you are pre-approved to buy, you can go out shopping with your real estate agent to find your new home.
4. Commit to your agent only.  If you already decided which agent to use, stick with your agent and call him/her to look at houses, not the agent on the for sale sign.  You do know your agent's cell number, don't you? Remember just call your own agent when you need to look at houses.  Your agent will arrange the rest for you. Your agent is on your side, so don't waste other agent's time when you know you are not going to use them as your agent.  Be considerate.
5. Earnest money is needed after you found a house and got a contract worked out with the seller, you will need to put some earnest money to show you are serious of buying the house, you will do what you need to do to secure the loan to close the transaction.  In our market, it is usually around $500, sometimes more, it depends how much the seller is asking for in some occasion.  The earnest money will be kept in escrow till closing, and it will be given back to you or use for other fees that needed at closing for you.
6. Home Inspection money.  It is a buyer's expense, it is highly recommendable to do a home inspection after the contract is executed.  You want to know if you are buying a good house, right?  Then you will need to pay a licensed home inspector to do the inspection, and you will need to pay for this process.  It is about $250 in our market.
7. Appraisal money.  This step will be ordered by your lender.  They want to know if the house you are buying is at least valued at the price you are paying, so they are sending the appraiser to appraise your future home.  This is usually about $450.  Often this is included in the closing cost and sometimes you don't have to pay for this if the seller is helping you with the closing cost.  Yet the lender will require you to give them a check for the appraisal and they will hold it till closing and return to you.
8. You are the buyer.  You don't pay your agent's fee, the seller is paying it instead.  You just take care of the fees you are responsible for.