What is involved in a home buying process?                     Next >>

Buying a home is a complex process! There are many things that one needs to be aware of. You need to be aware of all aspects including:

• Searching a home
• Researching about a selected home
• Viewing a home
• Knowing about the property and its short comings
• Putting an offer on the home
• Negotiating with the "Listing Agent" or "Home Owner"
• Working with title companies, lenders, home inspectors etc etc.
• Closing on a home
• And when all is well and done, MOVE IN!!!

Click on each link on the left to learn more about these PROCESSES in detail.

Before you even consider to buy a home, there is one thing that everyone absolutely has to do: GET PRE_QUALIFIED FOR A LOAN!

If you are unsure about your price range and, especially, if you are a first-time buyer, pre-qualifying for a loan can help smooth the purchase process. You will know exactly what you can afford and avoid the disappointment of being unable to buy the home you thought you could afford.

To pre-qualify for a loan, you will need to go through most of the steps entailed in applying for the actual loan. If you decide to pre-qualify, be sure to do so through a loan originator, that is, an actual lender. A mortgage broker, who brings together borrowers and lenders, cannot pre-qualify you for a loan. Why do you need pre-qualification?

The market that we live in for now is a very different one. This is the one where we see a lot of "Foreclosure" or "Bank Owned" or simply "REO" properties. We are also seeing a lot of "Short Sales" as well as the good old "Resales". For sale by owners or "FSBO" are something that are very rare in today's market. Understanding each of these different sales will help you get a handle on what the seller or your real estate agent will be saying. You can in turn let them know that you know what you are dealing with and that you are a well informed person.

Lets look at each of these properties that are for sale in the current market.

• Resale: These are also called as the regular sales. These are very hard to see in today's market as the homes are under valued or have lost their 'equity'. The genuine sellers selling their homes are very less in common as they are either waiting for the market to come up or they are not happy with what they can make after selling their home now. Learn more about these properties in details here.

• Foreclosed/Bank Owned/REO: With the melt down on sub prime mortgages, many of the home owners could not hold on to their properties anymore. With the economical down turn, a lot of people lost their job and could no longer afford their homes. Such home owners started to default on their payments and the banks/lenders eventually foreclosed on their homes. These properties are usually distressed, which means you will have to spend a little money or a lot, depending on the property, in order to make them 'liveable' or 'move-in' ready. Learn more about these properties in great detail here.

• Short Sales: Consider a scenario. A home buyer is not able to make her payments anymore for various reasons. The home is no longer affordable to her. She is behind on her payments or may start to default soon if nothing is done about it. She will then approach her lender and ask their permission to sell the home at whatever the home is worth. If the lender agrees, then, the home will be put up for sale. If the home is not worth what the buyer purchased it for, the lender takes a hit and "forgives" the remaining part of the loan. Such a sale is called as short sale. Learn more about short sales here.

• For Sale By Owner: Many times in a seller's market, it makes sense to sell your home yourself, as it is easier to find the buyers. On the other hand, in a buyer's market, it is difficult to sell your home. There are many things that one has to think of before they decide to sell on their own or hire a professional Realtor®. An advantage to the seller is that they do not have to pay any Realtor® commission. On the other hand, there are many issues in trying to sell your home on your own. Learn more about FSBO sales here.