1. Meet with your Realtor for a consultation about what your goals are in purchasing a home..better commute, long term appreciation, saving on rent, moving to a good school district, larger home, etc. Your agent will give you options based on your criteria and what target monthly payment you are comfortable with. He / She will also walk you through the purchase process so you know what to expect before you get started. Then, she will set up auto-notifications for homes that meet your requirements. So as soon as these homes land on the MLS, you will be receiving email alerts as well.
2. Meet with a lender or mortgage broker and get a preapproval. This involves the expert going through your W-2’s, bank statements, pay stubs and reviewing your credit report to make sure you qualify for the loan amount you have in mind.
3. Once you have a preapproval in hand, you can start touring homes you like, with your Realtor. After you find a home, your Realtor will do an extensive market analysis and give you a price recommendation for the home you are considering.
4. Then, you write up an offer and submit it to the seller’s agent (also called the listing agent), along with your preapproval letter, copy of your deposit check and the purchase contract itself.
5. Once the offer get’s accepted, you’re in contract! This triggers a flurry of activity and your clock starts ticking!
6. Your Realtor will start working closely with your mortgage expert in supplying the contract and ordering appraisal on the home. He / She will also help you order all inspections deemed necessary on the home. The seller will provide the required disclosures and geological reports on the home.
7. You will have ample time during your purchase (called your contingency period) to review inspection reports, seller disclosures (HOA disclosures as well for some single family homes, town homes and condos) , Title and appraisal reports. If you are satisfied with all of these, you can move forward. If not, you can negotiate your purchase price ‘down’ with the seller or cancel the contract.
8. Once you have removed all contingencies / conditions (relating to inspections and reports) , the appraisal comes back at or above your offer price and you have a FULL loan commitment from the bank, you are ready to close!
9. The lender will send loan docs to the Title Co. so you can sign off on them. The loan funds a few days after that.
10. In approximately 30 days after your offer is accepted, you Close on your home and pick up keys! Title is officially transferred from the previous home owners name on to your name, at the county recorders office!

That was a really quick overview of the purchase process in general. This will be a little different for Bank Owned and Short Sale properties. Please contact us for an in depth consultation (complimentary) on the purchase / sale process.