The Home Buying Process
Buying a home is a big decision and most likely the largest investment you will make in your lifetime. Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or have some experience with past purchases, the entire process can be a bit intimidating. In this week’s blog from JZ Mortgage Services, Inc., we’ll walk through the basic steps in the homebuying process including both finding and financing your next home.
Reviewing Your Finances
Before you start shopping for homes, you will want to know how much you can afford. This means you’ll need to take an in-depth look at your finances and make some projections on what you think you might be able to afford. A mortgage professional can help with this process. Mortgage brokers represent several different lenders to offer competitive interest rates and terms to meet the varying needs of their clients. Your mortgage professional will look at your credit score, your savings, your employment history and other factors that predict your ability to repair the loan you want.
Prequalification and Preapproval
Once your broker has a better picture of your finances, you will want to get prequalified. Prequalification requires minimal paperwork and will give you and your real estate agent a price range for affordable homes. Preapproval is a formal quote for a specific loan amount that is only granted after the review of documentation like paycheck stubs, W-2s, and credit scores.
Find a Real Estate Agent and a Home
You can begin to look for a real estate agent on your own or ask your mortgage professional for local recommendations. Once you have your prequalification, your agent can show you homes in your price range and that meet your requirements. Once you find a home you love, will work closely with your real estate agent and mortgage professional to start the process of making an offer.
Making an Offer
When you make an offer, your real estate agent will communicate with the seller’s representative and negotiate the sale on your behalf. If the seller accepts your offer, the home will go into escrow – which is the first step in finalizing the sale.
Once you’re in escrow, the home you’ve chosen will undergo inspection. Typically, the offer you’ve already made is contingent on the results of this inspection. This means if anything comes up during inspection that may require money out of pocket to repair, you can ask the seller to make the repairs or make an adjustment to your offer to offset these costs.
Appraisal and Closing
You will also need to get an appraisal of your new home before your lender can finalize the transaction and complete paperwork. This appraisal shows you, your lender, and the seller that you’re paying a fair price for the home. If the appraisal checks out, your mortgage broker will begin preparing your closing paperwork for your loan. When your loan is finalized, the lender pays the seller for your home, and the home is yours!
Get Started with Us Today
While the purchase of every home is a unique process, we hope this gives you a better idea of the general process when it comes to finding and securing the home you want. Make sure to contact JZ Mortgage Services, Inc., in Bradenton, FL, when you’re ready to take the first step toward buying your new home.