Buying a home can be one of the most exciting and rewarding things you ever do, or it can be one of the biggest nightmares you will ever go through.

How you experience the home buying process depends entirely on how well prepared you are and how knowledgeable the people helping you are. The following report should clear up a lot of confusion you might have.

1. Selecting a Realtor

This is probably the most important step in the process. You will, for all intents and purposes, be in partnership with your agent/s. You will be confiding in them on a business level and often on a personal level. Don't be afraid to ask for references; most agents are used to this and will not object. Once you select someone you feel good about working with, sign them up as a buyer's agent. It is very important that the person you're working with is representing you exclusively.

2. Meeting with your agent for a home buyer's consultation

Also a very important step in the process, this is when you and your agent prepare each other for exactly what to expect along the way.

3. Selecting a lender

Most people, when selecting a lender, call various lending institutions to check on rates and generally go with the lender with the lowest rates. We strongly recommend that you go with a lender who has been referred to you either by your agent or by someone who has actually gone through the entire loan process with that lending institution and loan officer.

4. Meet with you lender

Usually this happens in conjunction with Step 2. You will want to meet with the loan officer as soon as possible in the process, to review and ensure that you understand every aspect of the loan process. One of the best strategies we can offer you is to obtain pre-approval. It is simple to do and can save you thousands in negotiation on a new home.

5. Look at homes

This is the fun part. It is important to limit the number of homes you're looking at in a day. If you look at too many homes, they begin to run together, and you can't remember one from another.

6. Select a home

Once you've narrowed your search down to one or two homes that you really like, your agent will do whatever research necessary to help you make your decision, but the decision will ultimately be yours.

7. Making an offer and negotiation

When making an offer on a property, it is important to decide ahead of time how much you are willing to pay at what terms for the house. You already know what fair market value is. Now you have to decide what price you will offer; how much earnest money deposit you will offer; what personal property you wish to have convey (everything is negotiable); how much you are asking the seller to pay toward your closing costs; when you plan to settle; and what inspections you plan to have conducted.

8. Get inspections & remove contingencies

If, as part of your offer, you asked for time to be allowed to have inspections conducted on the property, you should have written what is called a contingent offer. Offers can be contingent upon loan approval, inspections, the receipt of acceptable homeowners or condo association disclosure packets, the sale of property, and many other conditions.

It is important that all deadlines be met and that all contingencies are removed exactly the way the contract describes. Your agents are responsible for making sure this is done correctly.

9. Select an attorney/Title Company

The sales contract will dictate who gets to chose an attorney to represent the transaction. Usually, it's the buyer's decision. If you don't know an attorney or a title company, your agent can recommend someone.

10. Walk-through

Most sales contracts will give the buyer the right to one presettlement inspection. This is your last chance to find any problems and have the seller correct them. Read the contract carefully, but most contracts read that all electrical systems, plumbing, appliances, heating, and air conditioning need to be in working order at the time of settlement. These are the items you checking for at walk-through.

11. Closing on your home

This is the day you "sign your life away," as most clients say. Not really. You will be signing all of the loan documentation, which can seem never-ending. The person conducting the settlement should be able to explain every document to you in a satisfactory manner. Do not ever feel intimidated. If you don't understand, don't sign.

12. Moving day

This is the last and probably the hardest step in the home-buying process but a little bit of planning and forethought, though, will make for a much smoother move. You will want to make arrangements with a moving company as soon as you can. Call at least two in order to get competitive quotes. They will usually ask to come to your home to get an idea of how much they will be moving and the distance they will need to travel. Be sure to change your address with the post office, your banks, and any creditors at least 30 days in advance. To avoid late payments, it's a good idea to actually call and verify receipt of the address change whenever possible. Call to order your utility hook-ups approximately 10 days prior to your move.

   Understand why you are selling your home. Your motivation to sell is the determining factor as to how you will approach the process. It affects everything from what you set your asking price at to how much time, money and effort you're will to invest in order to prepare your home for sale. For example, if your goal is for a quick sale, this would determine one approach. If you want to maximize your profit, the sales process might take longer, thus determining a different approach.

   Keep the reason(s) you are selling to yourself. The reason(s) you are selling your home will affect the way you negotiate its sale. By keeping this to yourself you don't provide ammunition to your prospective buyers. For example, should they learn that you must move quickly, you could be placed at a disadvantage in the negotiation process. When asked, simply say that your housing needs have changed. Remember, the reason(s) you are selling is for you to know.

   Before setting a price - do your homework. When you set your price, you make buyers aware of the absolute maximum they have to pay for your house. As a seller, you will want to get a selling price as close to the list price as possible. If you start out by pricing too high, you run the risk of not being taken seriously by buyers and their agents, and pricing too low can result in selling for much less than you were hoping for.

Lydia, I wanted you to know how thankful I am for your all of your support in helping me find a house. You went above and beyond your call of duty as my realtor and I appreciated how easy you were to work with.

Some people (including myself) have questioned the value of a realtor, but I now realize how valueable you were during the entire the proces. I tried searching for homes on my own, but ended up exhausted and thoroughly frustrated.

You stepped right in, worked very hard for me, and looked out for my best interest. You were kind and fun to work with. You are worth your weight in gold and deserve ten times what you earn. I look forward to working with you again in the future and plan to recommend you to all of my friends and to anyone I come in contact with, who is in need of a quality realtor.

Thanks a million!”

-- Robin

Lydia, just wanted to drop you a note to say thanks for your good work in selling our house. We really appreciated the way you kept us up to date on your efforts to find a buyer. It was very helpful to receive the phone calls or notes in the mail to report on the results of an open house or potential buyers that had an interest in the house.

Also, we valued your suggestions on little things that we could do to make the house more inviting.

Thanks again and if you ever want to use our name as a reference please feel free to do so.

-- Bruce & Debbie Markland

1/2% of Commission Back to You For Buyers and Sellers

1/2% of Commission Back to the Buyer or Seller Our group offers corporations with 5 or more employees a credit of 1/2% of our commission back to the buyer or seller.