So confused on buying a house!!!?

We don't know what to do...where to start. Anybody have any "learned from" experiences they wanna share? Do's, don'ts, watch out fors...any piece of info will be helpful.

You really need to find a realtor who you trust. The Realtor will walk you through the process and answer all of your questions. As a buyer, you won't have to pay the Realtor's commission, that will come from the seller.

Also, if you drive by a house you like, don't call the number on the sign. That number is for the seller's realtor. The seller's realtor represents the seller first, and no matter what they tell you, they are interested in what is best for the seller. Their goal as the seller's agent is to get the house sold for the highest price possible. You need to have your own agent separate from the seller's agent.

As for the paperwork etc, here's a general overview of the process.

You or your agent find a house you like. Your agent arranges for you to look at the house (go inside, look around etc). If you like the house and want to buy it, you write an offer. Your agent will submit the offer to the seller's agent. You also need to put down "earnest money" which should be at least $1000. If you back out of the deal without a good reason, the seller will get to keep the ernest money. Your offer will be contingent on inspection and financing, meaning if you don't like the results of the inspection, or can't finalize your loan, you are free to back out of the deal and you'll get your earnest money back.

The seller will review your offer. If they accept it, the process moves forward. They will sometimes counter-offer asking for a higher price or wanting to change the terms. This can go back and forth several times.

Once you reach an agreement that both you (buyer) and the seller agree to and sign, the process moves forward.

You choose an inspector (your realtor can recommend someone) and they come inspect the house. If you find problems, you can either back out (and get your ernest money back) or offer a new contract that involves either the seller fixing the issues, or the seller allocating some money that you can use to fix the issues.

If you accept the inspection, or come to a new agreement about how you'll get the issues fixed, you move on to the appraisal. The bank will send out an apprasier who figures out exactly how much the house is worth, so the bank can lend agaisnt the property with confidence.

Then you'll meet with your loan officer and review the "good faith estimate" paperwork. Then you'll meet with a title company and sign a stack of paperwork that is about as thick as a phonebook.

Then the title company will get the sellers to sign the paperwork at a different seesion.

Then the title company will take all the paperwork to the county records office and process the sale.

Then your realtor will call you and say "Congradualtions, your officially the owner of the house."

As you can see its a long and complicated process, and you need to make sure you have a trustworth realtor who represents you, and only you in this transaction.

You may also consider taking a class for first time homebuyers. They usually take a few hours on a Saturday and they will explain the process from start to finish. Usually the classes are run by a realtor and/or loan officer who are doing the class for free as a way to meet new clients. You don't have to use them, but they are there as an option. Whatever you do, just make sure you can trust your realtor. Find someone you know, or get someone who comes highly recommended by friend's or family. Ask people you know who have bought or sold a house in the last few years for references.

Start by finding a good real estate agent/broker. Hopefully someone you know or someone that your family or friends have used successfully. They can answer lots of your questions.

get prequalified by a loan officer first thing. Then get a realtor that some one recommends to you if at all possible. Then go house hunting. Place an offer and once accepted then get the inspections done and give the loan officer any additional items he or she needs shop for home owner insurance and close then move in.
Sounds easy but it is the most stressful time in your life.
Just because you can buy $XXX home try buying less if you can don't max yourself out in mortgage as with home ownership comes expenses and I always tell my clients to have on top of down payments etc to have an emergency fund of 6 months living expenses in it as use it only for life's emergency's then replace it asap as the last thing you want is to have a mortgage and no fun in your life.
Good luck in your quest.
I am a mortgage banker in TN & KY

First of all, find a good Realtor in your area, and then look at their listings and see what you find. Ask a friend for a referral. Also, if you let me know where you are from, and where you are planning to move, I have a house in Belleville Kansas for sale. You can contact me @ marycollette@rocketmail.com. I will look forward to hearing from you.

Your local bookstore will have at least a few dozen books on this topic. I recommend going there picking one out and reading it. It is money and time well spent for what will likely be the largest purchase in your lifetime.

Check with your community action council they may sponsor a first time home buyers course. It helps you figure out your budget, get your creditors lined up so you have all the groundwork for a mortgage plus they usually have some worksheets that can help you determine what features of a house and neighborhood are important to you when you are looking at property.

All good answers before me. I'd add that you shouldn't use the inspector that your realtor recommends. Your realtor's goal is to get you to buy the property, so there might be a conflict of interest if you use the inspector your realtor recommends. The inspector might neglect to point out certain items in order to help get the property sold. You should hire someone independently, to make sure he/she is working for you, not for the realtor.

I'd start with getting pre-approved (not pre-qualified) for a mortgage. Many sellers and real estate agents won't want to waste their time if you can't get a mortgage. Call a bank or mortgage company directly. You don't need a mortgage broker. Try your own bank first.

Then find a real estate agent you can trust. Ask people you know who they used. Talk to a couple or more before you choose. New agents will hate me, but try to find someone who's been doing it for more than a few months.

Here's a mortgage calculator you can play with to see what payments would be. http://www.mortgage-calc.com/mortgage/simple.php

The first thing you need to do is get preapproved for a mortgage. You need to know what you can afford before you start looking at homes. Most realtors will not put time into a prospect without this in place.
Let me know if you have any questions.
j.burke@fmcuso.com

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment:

Archive: Forum -Forum -Finance - Links - 1 - 2 - RSS - All RSS Feeds
The Causes and the Results. 0.024
Copyright (c) 2011 Financial Crisis Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - Terms of use - Privacy Policy