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1. |
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Choose a Realtor to work with who specializes in your area and
has a good experience record and a good reputation. |
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2. |
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Get loan
pre-approval from a good lender. Check with your Realtor for
recommendations. |
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3. |
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If you need
to sell a home first, put it on the market and wait until it
has an offer (and all contingencies are removed) before making
an offer on another home. However, if you have the resources
to make a down payment without selling your current house (and
you can qualify to carry both of them), this rule does not
apply. |
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4. |
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Have your
Realtor keep you posted whenever new listings come up that
meet your criteria. When you find the one you want, move
quickly to make an offer, and accompany it with an earnest
money deposit. If a date is set to hear offers, then your
Realtor will advise you on the best strategy to be competitive
with your offer. |
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5. |
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Once the
offer is accepted, the escrow process begins. See steps 6 - 11
for the escrow process. |
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6. |
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You will
contact your lender, who will order an appraisal and start the
paperwork for the formal loan approval. |
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7. |
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You will
approve the inspections and disclosures on the property.
Sometimes these are already done by the listing agent, but you
may have an inspection contingency and need to order more
reports for your loan approval. If you have been in a
multiple-offer situation and saw all the reports and
disclosures up front, you may not require any further
inspections. If this is the case, you may skip this step. |
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8. |
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If you are
removing an inspection contingency, you may be negotiating a
repair allowance or asking for specific repairs to be
completed. If you purchased the property "as is": the
inspections will confirm if you still want to proceed with the
sale. |
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9. |
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After all
contingencies are removed, your lender will order the loan
documents to be drawn up and sent to the title company. At
this point, you should also arrange for insurance for the
property and let the title company know the name and phone
number of the insurance agent so the information can be
conveyed to the lender and the first year's premium can be
added to your closing settlement sheet. |
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10. |
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Then, you
will go to the title company, where you will sign all of your
loan papers and escrow instructions, plus any other necessary
documents. |
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11. |
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After that,
you will bring a cashier's check for the remainder of your
down payment, plus closing costs, to the title company, one
day before the transaction records with the County. |
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12. |
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Prior to the
day of recordation ("Close of Escrow"), you may do a final
walk-through of the property with your Realtor to ensure that
everything is still in the same condition as when you
initially saw it. You'll also need to make sure that any
agreed-upon repairs have been completed. The seller may meet
you there and show you how to run the various systems of your
new home. |
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13. |
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Once you are
certain of the exact day you take over title to the property,
you will need to order the utilities on in your name from the
local service providers. |
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14. |
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Close of
escrow! The property is officially yours, and your Realtor
will give you the keys. You may now move into your new home. |
