Let’s take a moment to look at the steps involved in the purchase process for all types of real estate acquisition.  This is just the general list of the items that will be completed through the real estate transaction. This list is not a complete list, but will give you a roadmap for the process to home ownership.  I believe it is important to understand the process and hire a Realtor® that will handle this process with your best interests in mind.    

·         Find a competent, caring real estate expert. Choose a real estate professional that has successfully completed transactions in the type of real estate you are purchasing and cares about your unique situation.  Visit www.brokerdarren.com/competency for additional information about my experience. 

·         Identify your purpose in purchasing real estate.  Are you buying a house as a primary residence or strictly as an investment?  How long will you keep the property?  Are you considering new construction or re-sale or land?  Are you an investor (every purchase should be evaluated as an investment) with the purpose of being a landlord? 

·         Write down your detailed “dream home list”. Consider property amenities, area amenities, view requirements, school districts you would like to be in, type of property (single family, townhouse, etc.)—as many features you can list.

·         Which type of financing will be best for your purchase? Get qualified for that financing.  See my list of preferred lenders at www.brokerdarren.com/vendors.  The type of financing you choose can restrict the house that you are able to buy.  There are many different loan programs (see chapter on Loan Programs in this book for examples) so don’t assume you know what is best.  In order to make an offer in the current market you need to have a pre-approval issued by a local lender.  This process will not only advise you on the loan programs that are best for you but will also let you know estimates of payments so that you can choose a payment you are comfortable with and that will determine the purchase price you’ll be targeting.

·         Let your real estate professional go through your “dream home list” and put together an automated search directly through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This will set you up on your own customized website that will display listings that are active that meet your criteria. This website will update daily with new listings and pull under-contract listings off the site.  You can save your favorites so that they can be viewed by your agent.

·         View properties and analyze them based on your needs and wants.

·         Select your property.

·         Run comparable checks on recent sales activity and prepare offer.

·         Deliver offer with pre-approval letter from your lender.

·         Offer accepted!

·         Delivery of earnest money.

·         Inspection scheduled.

·         Disclosures reviewed and approved.

·         Association documents reviewed and approved.

·         Title documents reviewed and approved.

·         Insurance for home put in place and approved by you.

·         Inspection performed.

·         Inspection objection sent to seller.

·         Inspection resolution agreed to and signed.

·         Due diligence documents delivered and reviewed and approved by buyer. 

·         Survey or ILC performed and approved by the buyer and/or title company and lender (if required).

·         All loan conditions met for final approval.

·         Appraisal completed, at value, no work requirements.

·         Final complete loan approval, clear to close.

·         Closing scheduled.

·         Final walk-through completed.

·         Closing, usually at title company.

·         All required funds in certified funds delivered to closer.

·         Documents signed and loan funding completed.

·         Closing, keys delivered with all remotes to garage etc. to buyer.