How To Buy Your First Home

You are seriously thinking about investing in your very first home. You hear all kinds of messages like: “The time is right to buy!” “Don’t miss out on your chance to buy a home!” On the other hand, you listen to the economic news, family, and friends and you wonder, “Is this really the right time to invest in a new home? And if so, how does it really work?” Where do you start and what do you do when making the most significant financial decision of your life, investing in a new home?

The very first step is to find a competent professional real estate agent to guide you through the home buying process. Considering that this is a significant investment in your financial and personal future, you need to be very careful who you chose. Talk with at least three agents before deciding on one. The person you select should have a minimum of four to five years of experience in helping other families, like yours, invest in a new home.

But, because it is you and your family that is making the investment, you must understand the entire process so that you can make sure that there are no “short cuts” taken by anyone involved in the process.

After selecting an agent, you must find out and become qualified for the amount of overall investment which you could finance. This is accomplished by sitting down and filling out an application with a highly qualified loan officer. Select a loan officer through the same process you used to find an agent.

The loan officer will review your income, debts, and savings to determine your best financial option. This information will include the initial amount you must invest and the subsequent monthly investment that best suits your budget. They will give you a pre-qualification letter which will include the total investment, monthly investment, and initial investment you can achieve.

Now it is time to make some decisions with whomever you will be sharing the home. A few things to consider are:

· Where do we want to live?
· What schools are important to us?
· What types of amenities (parks, lakes, golf courses, etc.) are central to our life style?
· Is it close to work or commuter options?

Then you need to ponder the type of home you want. Should it be new, old, single story, two-story, have a basement, two car garage, large yard, small yard? Be sure to identify the things you want and separate them from the things you cannot live without.

Using the information you have come up with, create a list of criteria then take it, along with the pre-qualification letter provided by your loan officer, the real estate agent you selected.

Once in possession of these valuable tools, your real estate professional will begin to make a search of the areas and the types of homes you prefer. For many first-time homeowners a brand new home has more advantages than a used one. These advantages include:

· The ability to select the floor plan that suits you.
· Having amenities and finishings you want.
· A home warranty to cover any major issues that may arise after you move in.

If you chose to build a new home instead of buying an older one, your agent will take you to visit the new home communities in the areas you have selected. Once there, you will receive further help from well-trained on-site agents who can walk you through the process of making your selections, writing a contract, meeting with the builder’s field representative, and closing once your home in completed.

If you do not select a brand new home, you will tour used properties with your realtor until you find the best one. You realtor will draft a contract for you and help you negotiate terms and conditions with the seller. Once you have a contract approved and signed by everyone, you need to hire a home inspector to review conditions of the home. Of there are problems, your realtor will negotiate with the seller to fix items that need repaired. In the meantime, you loan officer will be working on your loan and will need you to provide them with documents and information so you can get a fully documented and underwritten loan.

When closing day arrives you will go to the title insurance company and sign all your loan and closing documents.

You’re almost there. But, you will have to wait until the bank lending you the money wires it to the title company so the title company can pay the seller for you. Now, get your keys and move into your new home.

Check out the article on eHow.com