These 10 steps can help make the home buying process smooth and help you make the best decisions possible.

Step 1: Start Your Research Early

Consult with me, Sue Susman, your Real Estate professional on area markets, neighborhoods and housing needs. Together, we can begin researching your ideal home.

Step 2: Determine How Much House You Can Afford

You have to decide if you'll be paying cash, or getting financing.  If you decide that you'll be financing a home, then the next step is very important.

Step 3: Get Pre-approved for a Mortgage

Before you start looking for a home, you will need to know how much you can actually spend. The best way to do that is to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Your lender will review your financial information and tell you how much they can lend you and what you can afford. 

Step 4: Consult with Me, Sue Susman, your Real Estate Agent

I will be an important partner and expert to you when you’re buying or selling a home. I can provide you with helpful information on homes and neighborhoods that isn’t easily accessible to the public. My knowledge of the home buying process, negotiating skills, and familiarity with the area you want to live in can be extremely valuable. 

Step 5: Shop for Your Home and Make an Offer

Start touring homes in your price range. It might be helpful to take notes on all the homes you visit. You will see a lot of houses! It can be hard to remember everything about them, so you might want to take pictures or video to help you remember each home and together we can recap the pros and cons of each home.

We will work together to negotiate a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes in the same neighborhood. Once you and the seller have reached agreement on a price, the house will go into escrow, which is the period of time it takes to complete all of the remaining steps in the home buying process.  I will be there every step of the way to guide you through the entire process.

Step 6: Get a Home Inspection

Typically, purchase offers are contingent on a home inspection of the property to check for signs of structural damage or things that may need fixing. The inspection is typically conducted within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller.  

Step 7: Work with a Mortgage Banker to Select Your Loan

Lenders have a wide range of competitively priced loan programs and a reputation for exceptional customer service. You will have many questions when you are purchasing a home, and having an experienced, responsive mortgage bankers assist you can make the process much easier.

Every home buyer has their own priorities when choosing a mortgage. Some are interested in keeping their monthly payments as low as possible. Others are interested in making sure that their monthly payments never increase. And still others pick a loan based on the knowledge they will be moving again in just a few years.

Step 8: Have the Home Appraised

Lenders will arrange for an appraiser to provide an independent estimate of the value of the house you are buying. The appraiser is a member of a third party company and is not directly associated with the lender. The appraisal will let all the parties involved know that you are paying a fair price for the home.

Step 9: Coordinate the Paperwork

As you can imagine, there is a lot of paperwork involved in buying a house.  Your lender,  title company and I will help you to handle all of the paperwork and make sure that the things are running timely and smoothly until and after the closing.

Step 10: Close the Sale

At closing, you will sign all of the paperwork required to complete the purchase, including your loan documents and then... Congratulations are in order.