STEP 1-GET PREQUALIFIED

The first step to buying a house begins with a mortgage pre-approval or pre-qualification. A mortgage pre-approval or pre-qualification letter is a an important document that you will receive from a lender, which states they are tentatively willing to lend you a certain amount of money at a certain interest rate. Your credit and income will be verified during this process and will determine both the dollar amount of the loan plus the interest rate. Having this letter in hand will show your Real Estate Agent and the seller you are serious about buying a home. Not having this letter means you will have a hard time finding a Real Estate Agent willing to show you houses, plus the seller will more than likely not accept your offer when you find the house you love. So, if you're serious about buying a house, reach out to your bank, credit union or Realtor today to get started.

STEP 2-FIND A REALTOR

If you do not have a Realtor, feel free to contact me at 917.501.2222  right now. Other places to find a Realtor include recommendations from friends and family members, contacting agents you see on For Sale signs, attending Open Houses or calling neighborhood Real Estate Brokerages. Once you find a potential Realtor to help you, ask a few questions, such as:

-How long have you been a Real Estate Agent?

-How well do you know the area?

-Are you a full-time Real Estate Agent?

Asking these questions will help you decide if an agent is right for you and lets you know if the agent will be available to meet your schedule.

STEP 3-VIEW HOMES FOR SALE

Ok, so you have your pre-approval letter in hand, you have your Realtor ready to take you out and now comes the fun part...looking for your new house! Although it's tempting to have your agent send you listings via the MLS and then you randomly go and see what you like based on the photos, this practice should only be employed if you are looking to buy a house more than 60 days from now. If you are serious about buying within 60 days, you need to go out with your Realtor at least once per week and see at least 4 houses each time. Doing this allows your agent time to get to know you, your wants and your needs so the search can be fine-tuned. This also gives you the opportunity to make live comparisons between houses and their various features so you can make any search adjustments, if necessary. When the search is done in this manner, you will be well on your way to finding a house sooner rather than later because you won't be wasting time looking at houses that do not fit your criteria.

STEP 4-MAKE AN OFFER

Once you find the house you fell in love with and would like to buy, the next step is to make an offer. This is where your Realtor's negotiation skills and expertise come into play. Before you make an offer your Real Estate Agent will probably present you with comparable home sales as well as a suggested offer range. The most important components of an offer are the purchase price, the down-payment amount and the closing date. Your Realtor will guide you in preparing the best offer that looks great on paper to the seller and then will submit your offer to the seller, along with your pre-approval letter and earnest (good faith) deposit. The seller can reject, counter or accept your offer, and in either case, your Realtor will guide you accordingly. If your offer is accepted, your next steps will be a home inspection and a mortgage appraisal. Congratulations!

If you would like to know more, fee free to contact me at 917.501.2222 right now and I can answer any questions whatsoever.