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Buyer's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Buyer's Guide

Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by our team will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

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Step 1: Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

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Step 2: Select Your Lender

Before you start shopping, you'll want to speak with a few different local lenders to determine how much you're able to spend on a home. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation. These can vary from Conventional loans to special programs like VA, FHA or USDA. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel most comfortable with.

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Step 3: Decide On Your Budget

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

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Step 4: Choose Your Real Estate Agent

Choosing the right Real Estate Agent is one of the most important decisions you'll make in your home buying journey. You want someone who understands your needs, knows the local market and is dedicated to protecting your best interests. We will guide you through each step of the process, provide our expert advice, and help you make informed decisions. We will sit down with you at the very beginning to fully understand your lifestyle and what will make a house feel like home, then we'll go to work to find you exactly that! With us, you'll have a trusted advocate working to get you the best deal, all while having a smooth and stress-free experience.

Our goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home

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Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). We will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

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Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. We will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

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Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your home will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. We will help you arrange this and will have your inspections scheduled within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw the offer entirely.

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Step 8: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the home.

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Step 9: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all of the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it's a necessary part of the process! Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and the title company!

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Step 10: Get Keys

No one can deny the excitement of finally getting the keys to your new home!! It's the moment when all of your hard work truly pays off. After completing the paperwork and finalizing the transaction, your lender and title company will ensure everything is in order, then send the final closing package to the county to record. Once recorded, you're the legal owner of your new home! We will meet up at the house and you get to unlock the door to your new home!

Congratulations!

Congratulations on this exciting milestone! Buying a home is a huge achievement! We're honored to be part of your journey and help guide you through the process. We can't wait to see how you make this home your own. If you ever need recommendations for local restaurants, parks, events, schools, or even a great handyman, we've got you covered. We're all about connecting you with the best that the community has to offer!

Connect Real Estate Group

Phone

(530) 591-0906

Email

[email protected]

Address

1166 E Lassen Ave Chico CA 95973 CA DRE #01527661

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