Buying a home takes a little bit of preparation on the part of the buyer. In my years of working with buyers and teaching first time home buyer classes, these are the simple things I feel each buyer needs to think about before beginning this awesome adventure!

• Motivation: Define why you’re buying, what you’re looking for and how much you want to spend.
• Timeline: When do you want to be in your home? The answer to this question could be very important during negotiations.
• Price Range: Your lender will tell you what you’re qualified to buy, but only you can decide what you’re comfortable with.
• Style: 2 story, bi-level, rambler? What needs do you have that might determine which styles you should be looking at? Example: If this will be your retirement home, you may not want stairs.
• Square Footage: How much space do you need?
• Area: Near schools, work or shopping? Location, location, location means different things to different people.
• Age: If you’re not a handy person and willing to invest in your property, a character home may not be for you!
• Bedrooms: How many do you need?
• Bathrooms: What is your minimum?

The Home Buying Process

1. Find a Realtor!
   • Using a Realtor® to purchase your home typically costs you NOTHING! A Realtor® will work on your behalf and be with you throughout the entire process, from viewing homes to closing!
   • How do you find a good one? Ask around. Realtors are all about referrals and they work hard in the hope that your best friend will tell you how awesome their Realtor® was!
2. Find a Lender!
   • Your Realtor® will need a Pre-Approval letter from your lender before writing an offer and a good Realtor® won’t even show you homes until they know you have one! Think of it this way…if you’re not Pre-Approved, you’re a window shopper and what seller wants to postpone dinner and pack up the kids for someone who is “just browsing”? Besides, it’s no fun to fall in love with a home you find out later you can’t afford.
   • Be prepared to bring in lots of documents for your lender! If you’re packing up the apartment, DO NOT pack pay stubs, bank statements, work history.
   • If you don’t know a good lender your Realtor® can make recommendations.
3. Look at Homes
   • Get in touch with your “Wants vs. Needs” list! The features you want most in a home and identify as necessities are different from those which are extras.
     • Example; 3 stall vs. 2 stall; finished basement vs. something you can do later.
   • Identify three to four neighborhoods you’d like to live in based on commute time, schools, recreation, crime rates, and price. Drive through those neighborhoods several times to see what’s going on in the neighborhood at different times of the day.
4. Making an Offer and Negotiating
   • Be prepared to spend about 2 hours with this process. The offer contains several pages and you’ll want to closely look over the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement, prior to signing it!
   • Don’t be afraid of the negotiating process, but be aware of the market you’re in. A fast moving market may require your first offer to be your best!
   • Bring your checkbook! You will need to write an earnest money check. Earnest money is deposited in the trust account of the listing agent and credited back to you at closing.
   • When you have an accepted offer, your Realtor® will send your offer to your lender and the closing company and you move on to the next step…
5. Always Have a Home Inspection
   • Your Realtor® can talk to you about the Home Inspectors in our area.
   • You’ll need to bring a check to this appointment also. You and your Realtor® will discuss negotiating with the seller any defects found in the property.
   • Try to be there for it, but if you can’t your Realtor® will attend for you.
6. Home Insurance
   • Be looking for home insurance. It’s never too early to begin the process of finding someone you like. If you don’t know a good insurance representative, your Realtor® can recommend some individuals they know and trust.
7. Hurry Up and Wait!
   • There’s lots going on behind the scenes between now and closing.
8. Final Walk-Thru
   • This is your opportunity to inspect the property to make sure it’s in “substantially the same condition” as it was when you made the offer.
   • This usually takes place the day before closing.
9. Closing
   • Time, date and location have already been determined.
   • Be on time as scheduling can be very tight at the closing company.
   • Bring your down payment check from the bank (not your personal check).

Now comes the hard part… moving! Congratulations!

Ready to Buy?