Buying a home can seem overwhelming at times, but with the proper knowledge of the process, the experience can be fun and exciting. In order to insure the best experience, you should become familiar with the entire process of buying a home.

Steps you will need to take:

• Consult a Loan Officer
• Submit an Application
• Discuss financing options
• Find out how much you can afford
• Consult a Real Estate Agent
• What do you need in a home?
• Find your home
• Submit Offer
• Closing
• Funding

Your loan officer is a critical part of your home buying team. The loan officer will help you identify the best programs for your financial needs and goals. Consulting a loan officer early in the process will give you the security of knowing how much you can afford by getting you pre-qualified to buy.

In order for your loan officer to accurately pre-qualify you, he/she will need to take an application which you will need to supply current employment, income, assets, debts, credit, and current housing information. Once the application is submitted, your loan officer will have the needed information to present you with loan options that will benefit you and help you meet your financial goals.

Once your loan officer discusses loan options and you have chosen a particular program and interest rate option, he/she will be able to pre-qualify you which will tell you how much you can afford to buy. This will help with the home searching process as you will not waste your time looking at homes in which you cannot afford to buy.

With the proper knowledge of your price range and payment options then you can contact a real estate agent to show you homes in that price range that you are looking for.
If you do not find what you are looking for in that range there are loans that may lower your payments so you can get into the home of your choice.
Some of the loan options would be an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), interest only loan, 40 or 50 year mortgage or a pay option ARM.

Having your agent understand what you are looking for in a home will help with the overall experience of your home search. You should be confidant that your agent is aware of what you will accept out of your desired variables, and what you will not accept.

In most cases, a real estate agent will want to be certain that you have been approved for financing before they take you to look at properties. Your mortgage professional will be happy to pre-qualify you and write a mortgage loan commitment detailing the conditions of your approval, which can then be given to your real estate agent.

During the home buying process you should sit down with your family and discuss what it is that you need from a home and what the most important functions and features are necessary to have. If you have a family of 6 that included a husband, wife, son, daughter, daughter, and daughter, then it would probably not be a wise decision to buy a home with 2 bedrooms. Also it would probably not be a very practical idea to buy a home that only had 1 bathroom with 4 girls in the home. Buying a 2 story home with no bedrooms on the main floor would not be a good decision if you had a family member that was not able to go up to the second floor due to physical limitations. This is why it is very important to decide what you absolutely need to have in a home and what you need from the home before you even begin looking at houses. Deciding the details about your new home up front will ensure a positive living environment and help to create a lifetime of wonderful memories.