For our First-time Home Buyers

As a first time home buyer, I know that purchasing property can be complicated. 

Please contact me to clarify any of this material about a fairly typical purchase.

When considering a new home purchase, first look at your finances. How much of a down payment could you make? Remember you may need additional funds for loan "points" and / or closing costs.

Next, meet with a mortgage banker or broker. They can look at your credit history and your current financial situation, and help determine how much you can borrow, and what kind of loan is best for you. They can also let you know what other associated closing costs or loan points may be involved.

Now that you know what you could afford, it's time to find a home. We could meet with you so that we could review with you the properties for sale in the neighborhoods or districts that you like, and help to arrange showings for you.

When you have found the property that you want to purchase, we could prepare an offer to purchase contract, which we would submit with your earnest money deposit.

If the offer to purchase is accepted by the Seller, a neutral third party (escrow) would be "opened" to handle the transfer of money and property between the parties. Typically, the escrow process takes one to two months to complete.

During the escrow process, the Lender would require an appraisal of the property, and a termite inspection (within two weeks of the close of escrow), in order to guarantee financing.

The terms of the contract would allow a certain amount of time for you to perform needed inspections of the property itself, and existing records of it.

If you were dissatisfied with the inspection results you could:

                              request repair of certain items,

                              request a credit from the Seller against the property sales price,

                              cancel the contract if within certain time periods, or

                              accept the property as it is.

When all the requirements of the purchase contract have been completed, the loan has been approved and documents submitted to escrow, a closing date will have been scheduled so you could then meet with escrow and the loan officer to sign final documents, and to pay the remainder of your down payment.

Usually within a few business days of the signing of documents, the sale would be recorded, and you would receive your keys.

Then you would own your new home.