There
are some basic steps that are part of every home purchase.
1.
Gather your financial information.
You will want to list your sources of income, amount
in savings, your monthly expenses, any other short or long term
debt, and other cash-flow considerations. This will be needed
to obtain financing.
2.
Contact a loan officer. In today's market, you don't
just "take out" a loan, you will "shop"
for a loan. Contact a few mortgage brokers or lending institutions
to obtain the best interest rate. Then you should get pre-qualified,
or better yet, pre-approved. A Seller will
be more interested in your offer if they know that you are qualified
or approved for the amount of the purchase.
3.
Determine a comfortable monthly payment. Your
loan officer will tell you the amount that they will lend you.
Using a mortgage calculator, determine the
monthly principal and interest payment that you are comfortable
with.
4.
Contact an experienced REALTOR from The Bellamy Team. Your
licensed and trained REALTOR will act on your
behalf, fairly and honestly, representing your interests in
the transaction. And remember, the Seller pays the commissions,
not the Buyer. So we work for you and the Seller pays for it!
5.
Search for potential properties. Using the amounts
from your loan officer and your mortgage calculator, look for
homes in your preferred areas that not only are in your price
range, but match your preference of number of bedrooms, number
of baths, with or without a pool, style of construction, age
of home, proximity to schools and work, etc. Your Bellamy Team
sales associate will provide you with a list of homes that match
your preferences, or you may search from the privacy of your
own computer using our MLS Property Search.
6.
Make an offer. Once you locate the home that you would
like to purchase, your Bellamy team sales associate will help
you come up with an appropriate offer. Using a Comparative
Market Analysis, the sales associate will determine
a standard market value of the home based on recent sales of
similar homes in the neighborhood. This is similar to the appraisal
that will be required by the lending institution as part of
your loan process. The accepted offer will become the actual
contract.
7.
Contract to closing. Once your offer is accepted,
the wheels go into motion. You will need to select and schedule
a home inspector and a termite inspector. And you will need
to secure homeowner's insurance. Meanwhile, your sales associate
will communicate with the lender and the closing agent to prepare
all of the documentation. If any repairs are needed and called
for as part of the contract, you will want to contact and schedule
a repair person or contractor to make the needed repairs.Your
sales associate cannot select or recommend an inspector, contractor,
or insurance agent for you, but a list of these and more are
offered by the local Board of REALTORS and available from your
sales associate.
8.
Closing. All of the hard work has been done.
The closing agent will have put together "the package"
of closing documents, with support from the loan officer and
your sales associate. Once at the closing table, the Sellers
and Buyers will sign the appropriate loan and title documents.
Once the transaction is closed, you are the proud owner of your
new home !
For
specific questions about the home buying process, ask your Bellamy
Team sales associate.
