We talked about the reasons for considering buying your first home in "Redding, CA, Homes for Sale, Buying Your First Home Can Be Easy and Fun, Part 1" and we talked about How to get Started Part 2. In Part 3, we talked about What Type of House and Finding Your New Home. In Part 4, we will be talking about the Buying Process and Making the Offer.

Starting the Buying Process and Making Decisions:

• We've found the right house and now its time to consider the process of making our offer and determining a strategy that will be the perfect combination of price and conditions that will get your offer accepted.
• We will want to decide based on how long the home has been on the market, the condition of the house, what price we are willing to pay.
• We are going to want to consider what conditions are important to us. For instance, we will be contingent upon obtain financing and final loan approval and we will want to make sure that we make our offer contingent upon these conditions.
• We will want to choose a settlement agent or also referred to as our Escrow and Title officer. The Title Company will also be important in our decision. We will need to have confidence in this relationship and their ability to help us through to a safe and easy transaction.
• We will be asking for a title search and will want to be assured that the property can convey with clear title and no liens or claims against the property.

Extending the Offer--We will be working closely through the most important aspect of our transaction--making our offer. Well begun is half done.

Contract--As your Realtor, I help you to determine the important aspects and to understand the contract. Your offer is made in the form of a contract to buy property. The contract lists the items to be included in the sale, including such things as appliances, window treatments, etc. It also includes the dates for closing and occupancy. I will be helping you to write your offer and then presenting it to the sellers.

Earnest Money--Your offer is submitted with a financial commitment, often called earnest money. If you buy the house, the earnest money is applied to the down payment or closing costs. If your offer is not accpeted, then your earnest money will be returned. However, if after your offer has been accepted, you don't buy the house the seller may have the right to keep the money. My job is to ensure that we operate within the terms and conditions of the contract and to protect our ability to perform within those terms and conditions. By doing so, we are aware of the period of time we have for inspections and making that important decision to go forward or to withdraw. I will be working with you to make these important decisions and to protect your earnest money.

Next we will talk about "Protecting Yourself" in Part 4. Call us today and we can help you get started in the process of learning about your goals for your first home.

Don't forget to call us so we can begin helping you to learn about the choices you have. Redding Real Estate is our specialty. Call Jeanean Gendron, your Shasta Specialist and learn about how we can help you own your first home. We are waiting to hear from you and looking forward to working with you on this very important endeavor. Thank you for visiting and we'll see you soon!