BUYING A HOME

PAD4SALE HOME Credentials HOMES FOR SALE BUYING A HOME SELLING A HOME 21 Sale Factors that Affect the Purchase or sale of a Home! COST vs VALUE MARKETING PLAN Buying a Condominium BUYER AGENCY		KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY First Atlanta 404-574-2490 11 STEPS TO BUYING A HOME WITH A BUYERS' AGENT
		Be informed about RealSafe.net!
		"The process of buying Real Estate has changed in the past decade. If you are a first time home buyer, or new to Georgia, or if you have not purchased a home in several years, you may want to review the 11 steps below."

HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION LOAN APPLICATIONS Loan Calculator School Information EQUAL HOUSING LAWS PAGE CONTENTS: PRICE RANGE LOCATION MAKE A LIST COMPARE HOMES ELIMINATION THE OFFER AFTER ACCEPTANCE THE INSPECTION LOAN COMMITMENT THE CLOSING		Fish Photo Caption PRICE: Your first step in home buying is to determine roughly what price range you want to stay within. You should be pre-qualified for purchasing a home. This means that a loan officer will check your credit, run some numbers on your income and your debt ratios. The loan officer will introduce you to the many different programs available for purchase mortgage money. He or she will then give you an idea as to the price range you should be looking within. You should ask the loan officers for written estimates showing how much money you will need to buy your home, and estimate your monthly payments. You may want to speak with various loan officers to educate yourself as to what loan programs are available. Remember rates may change daily, and lender programs vary. If you like, I will provide to you names of reputable loan officers that will answer all your financial home buying questions.
		LOCATION: You will need to decide on the areas where you might like to live. Part of this decision may be travel time to a job, preference to a school system, your lifestyle, and your own personal tastes. For whatever reason, location needs to be on the top of your list in your search for a home. As your buyer's agent I will provide information about schools, taxes, and perform any other research that will help you decide on a location.
		WISH LIST: Think about your wish list--- what would you like to have in your home? Are the number of bedrooms most important, amount of land (do you like yard work), is a basement essential, and what style of home would you like? I will provide you with a list of homes that will best match your wish list, for the given area, and price range that you have decided to work within. At your request, I will create a personal web page designed just for you, and keep it updated with pictures and listings of homes that best fit your needs.
		COMPARE HOMES: When we go to look at different homes ---keep in mind the essentials you'd like in your home. Think about the maintenance, costs of upkeep, heating and cooling, and any decorating or updating that you'd feel is necessary for this home. Think about items in the home that might be objectionable to a purchaser when reselling the home. As your buyer's agent I will help you compare what is offered at a given price with other homes of similar values.
		ELIMINATION: Home buying is a process of education and elimination. This phase of home buying is your educational period. You should see enough homes so, when we find a home that you like, you will have a good idea as to it's value. When we have found a home that you are interested in, as your buyer's agent, I will help you evaluate the pros and cons of the homes you will be considering.
		THE OFFER: Before making an offer on any home, as your buyer's agent, I will help you compare sale prices on similar homes that have sold in the area. We will discuss any available current information on the neighborhood and home that you have selected. We will prepare and review the terms of a contract to purchase (the offer) on the home you have selected. As your buyer's agent I will suggest contract stipulations to help protect your interests, and help you negotiate for the best possible terms of contract.
		AFTER ACCEPTANCE: Within five days of acceptance of your contract, you will apply for a loan through a mortgage company, savings and loan, commercial bank, or credit union. Occasionally the seller will take back a mortgage. When you apply for a loan you will need a copy of the contract, employment information, checking and savings account numbers, debt account numbers, tax returns if self employed, and anywhere from $250 to $350 for costs of the a personal credit report, and application fee. A few days after you make loan application you should receive a truth in lending statement showing the exact terms of your loan, and a written estimate of your closing costs. Certain loans may have different requirements such as: Low Doc loans and No Doc loans which may not require as much paper work.
		THE HOME INSPECTION: Arrangements will be made for a home inspection, radon, stucco, or efis (artificial stucco) inspection, if you contracted to have one. This is typically a Buyer's expense. I highly recommend that your contract to purchase be contingent upon having the home inspected. If there are problems with the home that you wish to have corrected, I will prepare an addendum to the contract asking the seller to make the necessary repairs. You and the sellers must agree, within the terms of the contract, on what will be repaired or your contract may be voided.
		THE LOAN COMMITMENT: Much of our time left before closing will be spent working towards obtaining a loan commitment for your home. Your loan officer will be asking you for what seems like an endless trail of paperwork and information about you, your spouse, prior jobs, etc. Relax, take a deep breath! Your loan officer is gathering information needed to receive the lender's (underwriter's) approval. It is better to provide more information than may be needed, rather than lose time or have your loan turned down from lack of information. Our goal is to have your loan approved the first time it is submitted. The gathering of information a standard procedure.
		WHAT TO BRING TO CLOSING: Once you receive your commitment from the lender, a date and time will be arranged for your closing. **You must bring to closing: a certified check made out to yourself in the amount given to you by the closing attorney, your personal check book, a picture ID (drivers license), evidence of an insurance policy endorsing your mortgage company on the policy (often attorneys want this information in advance). The check amount should be similar to the written estimate that you received at the time of your loan application. Call the attorney the day before closing to get this amount. At closing you will be asked if you wish to buy owners’ title insurance. I strongly recommend that my clients buy this insurance. The insurance is a one time fee, and protects your interest in your property. Your lender will require that you pay for a lender's title insurance policy. Owner's title insurance coverage is an optional cost and may not have been included in your written estimate. The home you are buying will have already been inspected for termite damage. A clean termite certificate must be brought to closing by the seller.
		CLOSING: The sellers, their agent, you, and I, will be at the closing. Your loan officer may also attend. You will spend about an hour reviewing and signing papers. If you wish to read the closing papers prior to signing, I will arrange for you to get pre-closing copies. Once you give your check to the attorney, the home is yours. Your keys are then given to you--Congratulations you now own your home!
PAD4SALE HOME HOMES FOR SALE Top of Page		"The above steps are not always as clear cut as they may seem. As your buyer's agent I will be walking you through these steps and taking care of any snags that we may run into along the way. As a buyer's agent, from the home searching stage, through the negotiating, and closing, I will be working for you. However complicated- the rewards of home ownership out-weigh the sometimes stressful process of purchasing."