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· Decide you'd like a house, think about what you'd desire (3 bedrooms or 4, one bath or two, a garage, etc).
· Begin looking at your current budget, gather up a list of all your bills and debts. Also look at your savings, do you
have money for a down-payment? Do you need a down-payment?
· Call a lender to talk to them about being pre-approved for a loan, and call Melissa Christianson to become your buyer's
agent.
· Decide if you prefer to receive lists of houses by mail, email or in person. Melissa can also call you to give you
an update over the phone if desired. From there, you can drive past houses on your own, or Melissa can personally show them
to you.
· Once you've found the house, Melissa will write your offer on it. At that time you will need to have earnest money
to accompany the offer. This amount is negotiable and it varies, but it is typically $1,000. It doesn't have to be this
much, or it could be quite a bit more.
· You will also want to have Melissa insert a copy of your pre-approval letter into your offer, to show the sellers you
have the funds available to purchase that house.
· After the offer has been accepted, you will formally apply for the loan, hire a home inspector, and apply for homeowners'
insurance. The inspector will need to be paid the day of the inspection, typically between $200-300. This is not the time
to pinch pennies - you will get what you pay for and the better inspectors tend to charge $250 and up.
· You will decide if any repairs need to be negotiated between you and the seller, or if you can complete the repairs
after you own the property.
· Your title company will send you a title report, going over information specifically about the property.
· An appraisal will be ordered by the lender.
· The lender will send documents off to their underwriter for final approval. Those documents will be sent to the title/escrow
company.
· You'll sign documents at the title/escrow company. The seller will sign the same papers. They are then sent back to
the lender one more time and funds will be distributed.
· Once all the paperwork has gone through, and the county has recorded the changes, keys can be handed over to you.
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