1. Tell Us About You.
Buying a home can be a very complex and emotional process. It’s not very often that our clients are in the same life situation, which is why our first step involves learning more about you and your specific circumstances. Give us a call at 970-455-9050 or fill out our online form with some basic information.
2. Get Preapproved for Financing
The real estate market is competitive! Before you begin looking at new homes to buy, give yourself an advantage by getting preapproved with a Local Mortgage Lender. The lender will review your income, credit score, budget, and employment history. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of eligible loan programs, interest rates, down payment requirements, and the price range in which you will be shopping.
3. Hire a Realtor®
Buying a home can be very complex and emotional; make sure you hire a Realtor® that can confidently guide you through the process. Here are some factors you should consider:
- Character Traits (Honesty, Integrity, Values)
- Experience & Area of Expertise (Residential, Commercial, Farm & Ranch, New Construction, Investment Properties)
- Professionalism
- Reliability and Availability
- Competency in Real Estate Contracts & Forms
- Communication and Negotiation Skills
- Knowledge of the Local Housing Market
- Access to a Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
Meet Our Team to see who might be the best fit for you!
4. Find Your New Home
Enough of the window shopping; this is where the real fun begins! We’ll work directly with you to develop a list of needs, wants, and other criteria. Then we use our access to the Northern Colorado and Denver multiple listing services (MLS) to build a custom search just for you.
During the showing process, we’ll educate you about location, schools, property taxes, condition of the home and its systems, resale value, etc. We want you to be well-informed and comfortable with your purchase.
Finding the right home may take some time; be patient and persistent!
5. Make a Competitive Offer and Pay Earnest Money
This is the part of the process where you will be thankful to have an expert Realtor® on your side! Time to make a competitive offer to the seller; our Realtors® have written hundreds of offers and will make suggestions on how to differentiate your offer from the others.
There may be some back-and-forth negotiations, but once both parties agree to terms, you will be officially ‘under contract’! Woohoo!
Shortly after going under contract, you will need to pay “Earnest Money”. It’s a good faith payment to the seller (held by a third-party Title Company) to show that you are a serious buyer. Be prepared to pay about 1% of the sales price within 1-3 days of going under contract.
6. Inspection. Appraisal. Loan Approval.
As the buyer, you have a contractual right to hire a professional home inspector (highly recommended) to assess the overall condition of the house. Plan on paying several hundred dollars for this service. After the inspection is complete, you can either negotiate inspection issues with the seller OR terminate the contract if the inspection findings are too significant. If you terminate the contract in good faith, you will recuperate your earnest money.
If you continue on with the contract after inspection, your lender will hire an appraiser to determine the home’s fair market value. You will again have options if any hurdles arise during the appraisal process.
Assuming all goes as planned, final loan approval will be issued by the lender about 7-days in advance of the closing.
7. Closing Day
It’s pretty much a huge celebration just for you……(with a tiny bit of paperwork to sign)! The closing will be held at a local Title Company. Your Realtor® will attend as will your lender. Bring a government issued form of identification, along with a check in the amount of your closing costs.
Congratulations! You did it.
