What to Expect Through the Loan and Home Buying Process:
An overview of the path to home ownership
Make no mistake, there's a lot involved in buying a home! You wouldn't be here on my website if you could fill out a one-page application and get the best loan and home pronto! I do most of the heavy lifting for you so you can concentrate on what's important -- preparing to move into your new home, saving money, or making plans for your home equity line of credit!
There are several steps involved in buying a home, and first you must find a mortgage professional to help with getting you pre-qualified. This is a function of a couple things: How much of a monthly payment can you afford? Given your unique credit /employment history, income/debt, and goals…how much will a lender loan you? You will need to supply information about your employment, assets, residence history etc. to the mortgage professional. They will run your credit score and once they review all of the above information, they will give you a Pre-Qualification Letter. Handle it with care -- to a home seller, it's like a suitcase full of cash! Your real estate agent will use your Pre-Qual (as they may call it) to make the best offer on the home you choose.
Once you have been pre-qualified, you will start your home search process. You will view homes in your given price range and once you find a home you like, your real estate agent will write up an offer to be presented to the seller. Once accepted, the real estate agent will deliver the binder deposit to their company to be held in escrow until closing. The binder deposit is typically around 1% of the purchase price, but can be more or less.
Upon acceptance, you will take the accepted contract to your mortgage professional, and from there they will complete the loan application. They then order an appraisal for the home and your real estate agent makes sure to set up all of the appropriate home inspections. Getting a home inspection is VERY important and can save you thousands of dollars.
As the time nears for closing, your mortgage professional will work closely with the seller's agent and escrow/title company to handle the funding of your loan once it's approved. The mortgage professional will coordinate with the escrow company to make sure all the papers your lender will need are in order, and you'll sign everything at the escrow/title company's office for closing.
The process is fairly simple and pain free so long as you have the right team of professionals on your side.
