Decide what you can comfortably afford. Take into consideration your current monthly budget, your income and available funds. Input your desired monthly payments into a mortgage calculator to determine your target price. Be sure to make an allowance for taxes and insurance. In San Antonio, this should be about 4% of the value of the home. Begin your search for a lender. Shop around to find a lender who you will feel comfortable working with and ask them to determine your qualifications. Obtaining
a pre-approval letter will enhance your negotiating power.
Call your REALTOR®. It's time to put your REALTOR® to work! Your REALTOR® will save you an enormous amount of time and energy. Schedule an appointment to review your criteria and they will put together a list of available properties. Review the list and decide which properties you would like to go see and when you'd like to see them. Your REALTOR® will make all the necessary arrangements to help you begin your search for a new home.
The search is on. The time required for this part of the process will vary greatly, depending on your motivation, the market and time of year. If you know how much you want to spend, the general location your interested in, and your REALTOR® is focused on your needs, it shouldn't take more than a few weeks to locate a property meeting your criteria.
Submit an offer. Once you find a property you like, ask your REALTOR® to do a Market Analysis for you and schedule a time to discuss the terms, conditions and process
of making an offer.
Agree to terms. Negotiations may take less than an hour or several days, but if
you and the Seller ultimately come to an agreement of the terms, you'll be "under contract". The "Effective Date" of the contract will be the day on which all of the terms have been
agreed to. Have the property inspected. Property inspections should be completed as soon as possible after the Effective Date of the contract.
Amend the Contract. If the property inspection reveals any items of concern
which would warrant amending the contract, it should be negotiated promptly after
the inspection.
Provide your lender with a copy of the contract and all the necessary documents. Now it's time for your lender to get to work. From this point forward, your REALTOR® will coordinate all the closing processes with the various entities.
Title Commitment. The title company which will be closing the transaction will be sending you and your REALTOR® a commitment to provide you with title insurance.
This document is very important and will be reviewed by your REALTOR®.
Appraisal and Survey. Your lender will order an appraisal and a survey be performed on the property.
Review the Settlement Statement. Your REALTOR® will receive a Settlement Statement (often referred to as the HUD-1) from the title company. They will review it and forward you
a copy to review. The HUD-1 will define all of the expenses to be paid by you and the Seller at closing. If everything is in order, you will need to go to your financial institution and obtain a Cashier's Check for the "Amount Due". Buyer's Walk Through. One last look prior to closing to ensure the condition of the property is unchanged and/or any required repairs were completed. TIP: If you haven't already done so, make arrangements to have the utilities transferred into your name. Here's a list of numbers which will help. Closing and funding. Closing is the process of signing all the final legal and lender's documents and funding occurs when all the monies are dispersed by the title company. |
