First-time home buyer checklist

By Warren McNeil

Doing a quick Google search for "first time home buyer" will yield more information about the home buying process then you can shake a really big stick at. You will find many pointers via Google. Therefore I am not going to repeat everything here. I am just going to point out a few of the important things to consider.

 If you are buying a house for the first time, it can be downright frightening. Fortunately there are several people who can help you through this daunting process

Here is a shortlist of people who can help you

- realtors

- mortgage brokers or bankers

- lawyers

- home inspectors

- insurance

Rather then go at it alone, it is recommended that you consult an expert. The above people are trained in their field of expertise and will be able to help you in more ways then you realize. A good professional will be able to save you money, time and give you peace of mind. Planning is very important. Buying a house involves many steps. You can't just walk into the house store and say I will take that one.

Four Simple Steps of the Home Buying Process

1. Pre-approval

2. Home search

3. Offer

4. Condition fulfillment

Pre-approval

Getting pre-approved is important step in the home buying process so that you know how much you can afford. No sense in looking at a house that is out of your price range. You are just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Home search

Looking for a house is more involved then just going to an open house and buying it. You should look at several homes to see what features you like and dislike. Not all houses have open houses so you could be missing the house of your dream house by not looking at everything available.  Remember, you are the one who is going to have to live there. Why not buy something you will enjoy for years to come. Try to visualize what it will be like in 5 years in the house and if you think you will be still happy then chances are you made a good decision.

Offer

When you are ready to put in an offer, your realtor will help you with the paperwork.  You need to compare the house price and make sure that it coincides with other houses that recently sold on the market.  Depending on your situation, your realtor needs to put in various conditions such as home inspection and financing. These will protect you in the event there is something wrong with the house or the bank denies your application for a mortgage. Once the offer is accepted you can move on to condition fulfilment.

Condition Fulfilment

Now that you have an accepted conditional offer you will need to fulfil the conditions. With the home inspection, you need to make sure the houses doesn't have any problems (i.e. needs a furnace, roof, water leakage etc). Home inspections generally take 2-4 hours depending on the inspector and the size of the house. You also need to make sure that you can afford the house. Financing is extremely important. You need to find a lender who will lend you the money to buy a house. Since you probably don't have 200,000-500,000 in bank, financing is necessary.

As you can see, this just scratches the surface of the process.