A Rundown of the Home Buying Process

Pacific Sotheby's International Realty Podcast

Today I wanted to talk about the home buying process. If you or somebody you know is thinking about buying a home, or you’re thinking about buying an investment home, this video is for you. The first thing you do is reach out to a great Realtor and start looking at homes online. We know that 95% of homebuyers start shopping online, typically 12 to 16 weeks before they actually engage a Realtor. Do some research on what kind of neighborhood you want to move into, the type of home you’re looking for, and have a discussion about how much home you can afford. My advice is to get a good Realtor involved early on. They can sit down with you and talk about the features and areas that are important to you and help you find a suitable property. “Get a good Realtor early on in the process.” You also want to get in touch with a really good mortgage lender. If you’re not fortunate enough to pay cash for a new home, you’ll need a loan. This is a critical step for you to complete, because any offer to write for a home you want won’t hold much weight without the backing of a lender. That lender is going to run your credit, get your proof of income and list of assets, and then pre-approve you for a certain amount. That way you know exactly what your purchasing power is, as well as what your comfort level will be on a mortgage payment once you’ve closed on a house. A really good lender will also get you underwritten in advance, meaning that you’ll have an ironclad approval. Once you’ve figured these things out, start looking for your new home. Your agent is going to start looking at houses for you to supplement what you’re doing on your own. A good agent has access to the Multiple Listing Service, which has the fastest and most accurate data. Once you see a home that you like, in this market you need to move fast. There’s no time to wait to submit an offer in this competitive market. Write a good offer from the start and get after that home aggressively. A good agent will negotiate with the seller to get your offer accepted. That’s the general process that you’ll go through to get the home of your dreams. If you have additional questions, or you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell a home, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. My team and I would love to help you.