Steps to Owning Your Own Home

You want to own your own home but not sure of the steps you need to take? The very first step of course is finding out what you are comfortable with paying. Then find out from a lender how much you can qualify for. My favorite lender is Rob with Premier Financial Network. He's a very nice man who is also very honest and will tell you frankly if what you want can work for you financially or not. He's also very efficient and keeps in contact with you! If you are looking for a lender you can reach Rob Briggs at 714-962-3331, his office is located in Huntington Beach, CA

OK, you have your financial arsenal; now what? Find a Realtor that you can trust! You have to feel comfortable with your Realtor. You will be working closely with them and divulging information about yourself. Your relationship with this professional should be a well working one. You have to listen to one another and understand each other. Be honest with them so that they can better assist you in finding what you are looking for. Which brings us to the next step

What are you looking for? If you are a couple or family looking for a home you need to take everyone into consideration when outlining your criteria. From how many rooms do you need to, do you want to have to take care of a yard. It's good to write it out! What are your wants and what are your needs? Keep them separate you may only be able to buy a house that fits your needs right now but if you can find a home that can include some of your wants too, all the better!

Once you have your wants and needs figured out, it's time to house hunt! I know it's tempting to go on websites and search for yourself but some of those sites contain a lot of bogus listings. If you are serious and want to get down to reality, let your Realtor work for you. The Realtor will do custom searches on their database called the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This database contains only real legal listings. Some Realtors (like yours truly) can set up an online account for you to be able to snoop around yourself and tweak your criteria. If you are into looking online this account can be a lot of fun. When you get a good selection of homes to look at, it's time to physically go and see those homes

When you find a home that meets your needs and you can see yourself there happily then you can make an offer on the home. This is when your Realtor becomes really critical to your transaction. This is when they fight for you and what you want; making sure you are getting a good transaction. Your Realtor will be overseeing every document and inspection to make sure everything goes smoothly and works out to the best possible ending. Now we do everything we can. That is not to say we can make everything work out all of the time. If only we were superhuman. We do everything in our ability and if your Realtor isn't, you might want to reconsider them

When you have an accepted offer; you and the seller then open escrow. Escrow is a third party that isn't on either the seller's side or the buyer's side. They are a kind of middle man so that the transaction meets all the legal steps and is fair to both parties (the seller and buyer). When all legalities are met your Realtor has the honor of handing you your keys! Congratulations you are the proud owner of your new home!

If you have any questions regarding this process, please don't hesitate to contact me. I love answering questions!