From developing your budget to signing your name on the dotted line, lets learn more about the home buying process.
Buying a home can be one of the most exciting (and stressful) experiences of your life. This can be true whether you’ve purchased several homes or you are preparing to buy for the first time. With the right support system and the help of a trusted agent you can make the most informed decisions.
Our guide breaks down the steps of buying a home so you can start the process feeling confident and prepared. From developing your budget to signing your name on the dotted line, you will find helpful tips right here. Plus, we are here to help every step of the way.
Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you may every make. Whether you are buying your first home, relocating or just moving down the street – you want a trusted professional by your side. Working with a qualified agent makes this process easier. Agents are there to help guide you through the home search, purchase agreements, inspections, closing matters and more. Knowing you have an agent who has your best interests at heart can ease some of your stress and can help make it go as smoothly as possible.
Before you start looking, consider why you want to buy a home. Are you tired of renting? Do you want to buy an investment property? Need more space? Figuring out why you want to purchase a home will help you make important decisions down the road. Considering what you want and need out of your home will help you and your agent narrow down your home search as well. What neighborhood do you want to live in? How many bedrooms do you need or want? Knowing preferences can help with filtering out homes that don’t fit your criteria. What are your wish list items? Your agent will use all of this information to do their very best to meet as many items as they can.
Knowing your budget up front can save you stress and time. Ask your favorite realtor for recommendations of local mortgage professionals. Why local? Local means that they know the area you are looking to buy in, any local programs that you may qualify for and just might be your neighbor! So what does a mortgage professional do? They can help you determine:
Worried that you have bad credit or no credit? These are the people who can help you come up with a game plan of how to get you into a home of your own.
Once you find the home you are interested in, you and your agent will work together to come up with a fair price. Then your agent will go to work negotiating on your behalf. If your offer is accepted, you will be officially under contract. This is when your team – your agent, your lender and your escrow officer – really start doing the heavy lifting. The timeframes, as laid out in the contract, start now. You will need to take you earnest money deposit (money that accompanies your offer and is applied to down payment or closing costs). After that, your agent will coordinate with you to schedule any inspections and review all of the disclosures. Your lender will order an appraisal on the property and work with you to get all of the necessary information to complete your loan.
This is the final step of your home buying journey. Closing is the official transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer. The week before closing you will be called in to escrow to sign your loan documents. You will need to take in the balance of any closing costs or down payments at this time. These documents go back to the mortgage professional so that they can fund (send the money to escrow) your loan. You will also do your final walk thru of the home with your agent this week – just to make sure the property is in the same or better condition than when you wrote your offer. Once the loan is funded you will be scheduled to record the property into you name – this usually happens the next day. The best part has been saved for the very last – You get your keys!!
Feel like you are ready to buy a home? Let’s do this! Call or text (805)588-4599 or email at [email protected]
Kristen Webster
Lompoc, Santa Maria &
Santa Ynez Valleys
DRE#01769621
Broker DRE#01885775
805-588-4599
PO Box 1470
Lompoc, CA 93438
