Confused? Whether it's your first home or your fourth there are an awful lot of choices to make whenever you buy a home. 

But here are some guidelines to follow to make your transaction easier.

Step 1 - Pre-Approval

Finding the right home starts with speaking to a good lender. You need to know how much home you can afford, how much money you will need for down payment and closing costs, and what your monthly payments will be. A lender can pre-approve you for a loan and issue an approval letter. This is invaluable when you are negotiating on a home! If more than one comparable offer has been received the seller will always choose the buyer who has the financing in place.

Step 2 - The Search

The next step is determining which neighborhoods you prefer within your budget. Once we have identified several neighborhoods to look in, I will set up a customized search to fit your special needs. We can search by size, number of bedrooms & garages, school zones, lot size, pools, fireplaces, floor plan style, etc. 

Step 3 - Putting an Offer Together

Once we find the right home we will prepare and submit an offer. To find the proper offer price, we will do a market analysis on the neighborhood for you and determine how much other similar homes have been selling for.

It's okay to offer a seller less than the listed price, but don't expect him to consider a ridiculous amount. Most sellers become highly insulted by "low-ball" offers and retaliate in kind. 
Also take into consideration how you will feel if you lose the house to another buyer. Sometimes trying to save a couple of thousand dollars is not worth losing the home of your dreams.

Step 4 - Escrow

After the offer is accepted it is time to choose a home inspector. We always recommend having one, even on new construction. They will go through the home and up in the attics checking all the major systems. They will find defects a normal buyer could not reasonably expect to discover and often the seller doesn't know about them either. A few hundred dollars invested here can save you thousands.

The lender will also be sending out an appraiser. The appraiser's job is to make sure you are not paying more than fair market value for the property.

Then it's time to work on turning on the utilities, transferring medical records, registering for schools, etc. (relocation checklist) while the lender is processing your final loan paperwork.

About four days prior to the recording date we will do a final walk through of the home. We will check to make sure everything in the home is still in good working condition. 

Then we will go to the escrow office to sign the final loan documents.

The day the property is recorded at the county recorder's office is the day you get your keys. This is when title is actually transferred from the seller's name to yours, and it's time to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate!