Real Estate in Contra Costa County and Alameda County
Basic Steps to Buying a Home
4. Get preapproved for a loan. You do this by submitting a loan application to a loan officer who will check your credit, ask for income information, and source of funds you will need, such as the down payment and closing costs. The loan officer will process your application to arrive at a loan amount you qualify for toward purchase of a home. You will then be given a preapproval letter that you will submit with your offer to purchase a home. This letter tells the seller of a home that your offer is backed by a preapproved loan.
Some buyers submit an offer with a prequalified letter. A prequalified letter is not backed by credit and documentation information but usually only by buyer-stated information to a loan officer.
5. Determine your needs and wants in a home. Try to be practical about what your real needs will be for several years. Often your wants may overwhelm your real needs and influence your decision to buy. If so, you may delay making a decision, and make the home-buying process more emotional than it needs to be.
6. Ask a (your) real estate agent to help you find a home. Agents have greater access than you to information about homes and what is currently available on the local MLS. If you visit open houses and find a home you want to buy, then you can contact an (your) agent to write up an offer to purchase. Also, agents can then find more information that is available about a property such as tax records, existing inspections, and more.
7. Prepare yourself for the offer to purchase process. The offer to purchase after acceptance of it by the seller goes through a very active process involving disclosures, inspections, possible repair work, and further negotiations. After Escrow is opened, there are many “time is of the essence” deadlines that need to be met by all parties in the transaction. Deadlines that aren’t met can result in cancellation of your offer or other negative conclusions for all involved. Both buyers and sellers normally do not understand the ins and outs of a transaction, but agents do. When obligations, deadlines met, and funding occurs, then Escrow closes. (Back to Page 1) (Home Page)
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