Home Buyer’s Guide and Tools

Home Buyer’s Guide and Tools


Step-by-Step Home Buyers Guide

Congratulations! You have decided to turn your dream of homeownership into a reality. Because a real estate purchase is one of the largest investments in your life, it is important that you select the right real estate agent, know the neighborhoods, and thoroughly understand the real estate transaction process. We’re here to help guide you through every step of your transaction and ensure a smooth closing experience. Our home buyers guide is an important tool for you to buy your dream home.

How Much Home Can You Reasonably Afford? 

Before you begin the search for your dream home, decide how much you can comfortably spend. Get Pre Approved for a loan. Mortgage lenders most often will take into consideration all of the following:

  • The size of your down payment
  • Your job stability
  • Existing debts
  • Credit references
  • Payment history

Knowing your credit status and how credit agencies rate your credit also may be a deciding factor, especially when you begin talking to lenders.  With the largest amount of repeat business in the Los Angeles, you can be assured a smooth and enjoyable transaction when purchasing through Faruk Bhuiyan. Follow home buyers guide.

Choose The Best Real Estate Agent

Once you’ve assessed your spending qualifications, you will need to find the top real estate agent to help you find your perfect home. It’s important to choose an agent who is responsive to your needs and can guide you through each step of the home-buying process. When you select Faruk Bhuiyan as your real estate agent, you can be assured a smooth and enjoyable transaction when purchasing through Faruk Bhuiyan. Follow home buyers guide.

Select The Direct Lender

Your real estate agent will guide you through the process of securing a mortgage lender that best fits your financial needs. Every lender is different, so be sure to choose direct lender and one that will work with you and your specific needs. Shop for lenders offering the best interest rate, fees and deals. Check with several mortgage companies and use one or more reporting services. If there isn’t a reporting service covering your area, begin the search at your own bank. Follow home buyers guide.

Choose The Right Kind of Mortgage

Decide what type of mortgage you want. The next step in your journey is choosing the right type of mortgage for your individual financial needs. While there are some people who can and do pay cash for a new home, most require mortgages. This is where your lender’s skills and knowledge will take effect. You are shopping for a loan from a mortgage lender, and pre-qualifying before house hunting puts you ahead of the game. Your research into how much home you can afford will show you which mortgages you qualify for. First, review the major types of mortgages you may encounter. Ask questions; your lender will be happy to explain each type of loan arrangement and satisfy all your concerns. Follow home buyers guide.

Get Quote From Three Mortgage Lenders

Getting a rate quote is a good starting point for comparing loan offers. Because mortgage rates change regularly and can vary considerably from lender to lender, aim to get rate quotes from at least three lenders. Often, you can get a quote for free through the lender’s website if you provide some basic information, like the loan amount you’re looking for, your down payment and credit score range. In general, you’ll want to pay the lowest interest rate because that means less money spent monthly and overall. Follow home buyers guide.

Go Shop For Your Home

This is the fun part. Talk to your real estate agent about your budget and top requirements so that you don’t waste time looking at homes that don’t meet your needs. If possible, visit homes in person, and avoid buying a home sight-unseen, even if it seems like the perfect fit based on an online description and photos. Use Home Finder to locate your home. Choose the right location.

During showings, tour the home and the neighborhood. How would you feel if you discovered the neighborhood was too congested with traffic, is near an airport or the nearby schools are underperforming? The location is often just as important as the home itself. For a home in a homeowners association, get a copy of the HOA documents so you know what the rules and fees are. Follow home buyers guide.

Find The Perfect Home

You are now ready and armed with your pre-qualification or pre-approval to find the home of your dreams with the help of your real estate agent. It’s important to determine the type of home you’re looking for. Do you know the neighborhood where you’d like to live? What type of schools will your children be attending? Is local shopping important to you? Would you be comfortable in a condominium, a townhouse or even a pre-fabricated home? Discuss these considerations with your real estate agent, so they can find the best home for you.

To help your real estate agent with this process, make three lists: a need list, a do-not-want list and a dream list. Factor in your current housing needs, likes, dislikes and possible life changes in the future, such as more children, less children, parents moving in or out and other major events.

Make an Offer

You may already have an idea of where you want to live. Utilize our neighborhood comparison chart to find the Los Angeles community that best suits your needs. Look at the surrounding houses in the neighborhood. Are the homes and yards well kept? The condition of these homes will affect the value of the home you buy. Whatever you do, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Your real estate agent will be very happy to provide you with as much information as possible. Remember, this may be the largest purchase you will ever make. Ask questions until you are satisfied with the answers.

Submit a Strong Offer

With your real estate agent’s assistance, offer the seller a written contract setting out the commitments and promises that you and the seller need to agree on and fulfill in order to make the sale. A well-drawn contract should protect all parties. The first contract you submit should be comprehensive and include everything of any importance. Keep in mind that once the seller accepts the contract, it may be too late to add or change anything. In some states, there may be standard real estate contracts.

Transfer Earnest Money Deposit to Escrow

After you have come up with an offer price, the next step is to determine how large a deposit you want to make with your offer. You want the earnest money deposit to be large enough to show the seller you are serious, but not so large you are placing significant funds at risk.

One recommendation is to make sure your deposit is less than 2% of your offered price. The reason for this is that if your deposit is larger than that, the lender will pay particular attention to how you came up with the funds. You might have to provide a copy of a canceled check along with a bank statement showing you had the money to begin with. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you have a short escrow period or are barely coming up with your down payment, it could pose an inconvenience.

Get a Home Inspection

After your offer is accepted, hire a home inspector to evaluate the property. Your agent can recommend a home inspector, or you can locate one through the American Society of Home Inspectors, International Association of Certified Home Inspectors and the National Academy of Building Inspection Engineers. As you did when researching agents, consult the Better Business Bureau, HomeAdvisor, Yelp or other online resources to check for complaints and read testimonials.

An inspector will check the home’s structure, roof, heating, plumbing and electrical systems, but typically won’t check for the presence of lead paint or mold. The inspection can take about two or three hours and range from $300 to $1,000, depending on the home’s size and the extent of the inspection.

Get a Home Appraisal

Even if you got pre-approved for your home loan, your lender will want to conduct a home appraisal. This is where the lender checks out the house to make sure it’s a good investment. It’s similar to a home inspection, but for your lender.

Buy Homeowners Insurance

Mortgage lenders require homeowners Insurance, which helps protect your (and their) investment. Insurance premiums vary, so get quotes from several companies or work with an insurance broker who can shop rates for you. Assess your needs and ensure you buy adequate coverage to completely rebuild your home if it’s destroyed or seriously damaged. If your home is located in a federally-designated flood zone, you’ll need to buy flood insurance, too. Follow home buyers guide.

Close Your Deal

Finally, it’s time to put pen to paper and seal the deal. The closing is when you finalize the purchase contract and officially become a homeowner. Just before the closing, get updated pay stubs and other financial paperwork to prove your employment status hasn’t changed and that you’ll be able to make your mortgage payments. If you’re paying closing costs on closing day, obtain a cashier’s or certified check made out to the escrow company for the funds ahead of time. Don’t forget to bring your identification, too. Budget for moving costs.

Getting Keys and Moving In 

Congratulations! The day of funding is usually the “get the keys” day. But at least one more thing has to happen: recording. Recording is when the county or local government puts the new ownership on the books. Once the recording is confirmed, you now own the house. Within 24 hours of closing, you’ll do a final walkthrough of the property to make sure repairs, if any, were made and that the home is vacant. At the closing table, you’ll sign a lot of paperwork to finalize the loan and transfer ownership of the home from the seller’s name to yours. Follow home buyers guide and tools.

Contact Us

When buying a home, you and your needs matter most. I will get to know you, your priorities and your must-haves to ensure we find the right home for you. I can help you spot your dream home with a floor plan that works for you and tends to your needs. I look forward to being your real estate resource for years to come, even after you have purchased your home. Please Call/Text Faruk Bhuiyan at (562) 213-8892 for a Free Home Valuation. 

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