The Home Buying Process

Are you ready to purchase your first home, or upgrade to a different property? Buying a home is an important decision, but can often seem intimidating and overwhelming. Review these eight steps so you are ready for each stage of the process.

1.       Prequalification - Before you begin your home search, visit with a lender to see how much you may qualify for. This helps narrow the search down and having a prequalification letter may be required by the seller prior to accepting an offer. This is a great time to start thinking about how much you want your payment to be, down payment funds, etc.

2.       Making an Offer – Once you find your house and make an offer, you will wait for the seller to accept. Your realtor will communicate with you throughout this process and ultimately let you know if an offer is accepted.

3.       Signing a Purchase Agreement - Once your offer is accepted, the clock starts ticking for any contingencies you named in your offer. A contingency is a condition for certain items such as inspections, appraisals, financing, etc.

4.       Submitting Your Loan - Once you have a signed Purchase Agreement your loan officer begin working on the details of the loan. At this point you can select which loan product you are interested in and will have the option to lock your rate in.

5.       Underwriting Your Loan - After you complete your application, your loan officer will analyze your information including but not limited to credit history, assets, liabilities, and debt-to-income. At this point your officer may request additional documentation.

6.       Appraisal - At this point in the process a Certified Appraiser will visit your property to conduct a property evaluation or certified appraisal. This verifies the value of the home and dictates how much can be loaned on the property. You have a right to a copy of this appraisal.

7.       Signing Loan Documents – After an appraisal is completed that meets your financial institutions requirements your loan officer will contact you to set up a convenient time to sign closing documents. Your loan officer will let you know any amount due at this time.

8.       Receiving Your Keys - That’s it – you’re done! Congratulations on the purchase of your new home!