Buying Real Estate - 10 Steps to Buying a Home
This tutorial is designed to teach you about the various steps to buying real estate. Though the real estate process differs from one buyer to the next, there are certain home buying steps that most buyers go through.
So without further ado, here are the 10 steps you are likely to face when buying real estate.
1. Examine Your Finances
One of the first steps when buying real estate should always be a good
review of one’s financial situation. You can bet that a mortgage lender
will put your finances under the microscope, so you should do the same.
2. Choose a Type of Mortgage
Generally speaking, the next step to buying real estate is choosing a
type of mortgage loan. This part of the real estate process requires
careful consideration on your part, because your mortgage will stay
with you for some time (until you sell, refinance or pay the mortgage
off).
3. Get Pre-Approved
There are actually two real estate steps rolled into one here, but they
are so closely related I’ve listed them together. Our next step to
buying real estate will be choosing a mortgage lender and getting
pre-approved. Pre-approval will help you immensely during the real
estate process. For one thing, it will show sellers that you are
serious about buying their home (and financially capable). This can
make a big difference in whether or not they accept your offer.
4. Find a Real Estate Agent
Continuing along in our steps to buying real estate, we will need to find a qualified real estate agent
to help us through the remaining steps. The real estate process can
move pretty fast, and there’s a lot at stake financially. So having a
skilled agent on your side can help you avoid making costly mistakes,
especially if it’s your first time buying real estate.
5. Choose a Neighborhood
Some buyers will neglect this particular step, rushing off to look at
houses without doing the proper research on neighborhoods. Which
neighborhood you choose is almost as important as which home you
choose. Neighborhoods have a direct influence on quality of life,
social and recreational satisfaction, real estate values, commute time,
educational opportunities and more. So doing a little neighborhood
research is a crucial step to buying real estate.
6. Start House Hunting
Let’s review our real estate buying steps up to this point. You’ve got
your finances in order, been pre-approved for a certain type of
mortgage, found a good agent, and narrowed your search to a few select
neighborhoods. Excellent! You’re ready for one of the most exciting
steps to buying real estate — the house hunting process.
7. Make an Offer
Once you find a home you like, you’ll need to make an offer on it.
During this step, work closely with your real estate agent to determine
a reasonable offer amount based on recent, comparable real estate sales
in the area (referred to as “comps”).
8. Get a Home Appraisal
To be honest, there’s not much you need to do for this next step. Your
lender will arrange for the appraisal, and you basically have to stand
by and watch (while hoping that the home appraises for the price you’ve
agreed to pay).
9. Get a Home Inspection
The main home inspection is one of several inspections you should have
done on the home. A home inspection is an important step in the real
estate process, so it should not be skipped. After all, it will give
you the peace of mind of knowing what condition the home is truly in.
10. Settlement / Closing
The period between offer acceptance and the final settlement is known
as escrow. You’ve probably heard somebody say, “My house is in escrow.”
During this part of the real estate process, you might have additional
inspections (for radon, pests, etc.), and you’ll likely have some more
paperwork to finalize as you move toward the closing / settlement date.
Learn more about real estate at http://www.armingyourfarming.com/realestate