Should I speak with a mortgage broker first? In what order should things be done in the home buying process.

Answer: You can speak with us or to a mortgage broker first. If you do not know a mortgage broker, we can help. Below, we have put together a general order of the home buying process.

Of course, we are available to help you with any questions that you might have.  Just call at:
(630) 264-1800, fax (630) 264-2037, or email at sales@labragroup.com.

Step 1. Financial pre-approval

Get Pre-approved! If you will be asking the seller for a mortgage contingency in your offer to purchase then it is very important that you demonstrate to the seller that you have not just spoken to a lender briefly about financing but rather you have taken the time to complete a loan application and have had it processed by the lender. This Pre-approval will go a long way to helping you compete with other Buyer’s for the same property. Or at least the seller may not hesitate when you’re the first one to the table with an offer and a pre-approval letter. The bonus of all this early legwork is that once you find your home you will have very little further work to complete with your lender, this will make the whole process of buying a home a lot less stressful!

Do you feel comfortable with the payment that you qualify for? Remember that you can deduct interest and real estate taxes on a home mortgage from your state and federal income tax.

In addition you can benefit from tax savings on capital gains up to $250,000 per year per spouse, which are exempt from federal income tax as long as you owner occupy the property 2 out of the last 5 years! When you factor in all of these the benefits, you can see why home ownership is far better than renting.

Step 2. The Search

Prioritize your wish list, what is a must have what is a luxury feature that you may be able to do without.

Call us and schedule a meeting. Then we can keep a keen eye on new listings that become available and that meet your criteria. Many times these listings come and go so fast that if you are just attending open houses you will miss out entirely.

After you find a home you want to own, go back and take a second look, get all your questions answered and ask your self how much are you willing to pay for this house so you can get it, or do you want to keep searching.

Step 3. The offer

Ask for and review the sellers disclosure statement.

Plan your negotiation strategy and make an offer.

Step 4. The Home Inspection

Step 5. The Purchase and Sales Agreement

The seller’s attorney will provide a draft Purchase and Sales agreement, this is a formal agreement that you should have an attorney review. All the detailed specifics about your transaction will be outlined in this document and will govern the transaction process through completion. When this document is executed you will need to place an additional deposit in escrow as originally agreed upon in the offer to purchase.

Typically the Seller’s attorney and the Buyer’s attorney will agree on a final document, which will be made available to the Buyer for their signature first. The seller will then execute the document and the brokers will distribute copies to the all the parties including your lender.

Step 6. Finance commitment

Stay in touch with your lender so as to make sure they have everything they need from you in order to issue a loan commitment on schedule. If you wish to exercise your mortgage contingency it is your obligation to notify the broker by your finance commitment date if you are not able to obtain a commitment. If you do not have a commitment yet but believe it is imminent then you may ask the seller for an extension. Or if you are confident about your financing you may decide to proceed at your own risk.

Step 7. Prepare for the closing

Schedule your mover

Obtain insurance, for condominium purchases the broker will obtain a certificate of insurance for your unit. You may wish to purchase separately an insurance policy for your contents, many times it makes sense to use the same carrier as your master policy.
Order phone and cable service
Arrange for utility transfer of gas, electric and water & sewer.

Step 8. The Pre-closing walk-through

You’re almost done! We will schedule a walk-thru just prior to your closing to make sure that the everything is in order and as you expected it to be.

Step 9. The Closing and moving in!