The 8 Key Steps to Homeownership
- Educate yourself: an educated Buyer is a savvy Buyer. Our goal is to teach you how to separate fact from fiction in the home buying process. Should I buy now or… more>
- Begin Building your Team: As your Real Estate Agents, we believe that our job is to work as your key Advocate. What do we mean by that? We will work with you to… more>
- Review your Finances: You want to ask yourself the question: “How much am I comfortable paying each month for housing?” In order to know that answer, you will… more>
- Choose your Loan program: What First Time Home Buyer loan programs do I qualify for? How much house can I afford? How do I choose… more>
- The Home Search begins: What priorities do you have for your First home? Location, size; how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms etc. How do you locate the houses that… more>
- Select & Make an Offer: So now, we have been diligently looking & you have found the house that you think is THE ONE! This is the only time in the process… more>
- Moving from an Accepted Offer to a Closed Sale: Once your offer to purchase a home has been agreed to by the Seller, what are the next steps? How much time… more>
- You are a New Home Owner!!! What do I need to keep in mind as a homeowner? How do I prepare to manage maintenance, taxes… more>
1. Educate yourself: An educated Buyer is a savvy Buyer. Our goal is to teach you how to separate fact from fiction in the home buying process. Should I buy now or should I wait? There is only one correct answer to that question: It depends!
The answer depends on your particular needs and resources. What kind of loan is best for you? What expenses are involved in purchasing a home? How do I find the right house? How do I make an offer and how much should I offer?
These questions and many more will be covered in our comprehensive First Time Home Buyer Classes. Our class is sponsored by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, which means we have taken special training and are certified by the WSHFC to lead Home Buyer education Classes. Our classes are free and open to anyone. We are committed to First Time Home Buyers being prepared & in a position to make wise choices. Whether you are ready to buy now or a year from now, we are happy to work with you.
View class outline.
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Register to attend a class.
Tell me about the Certificate I receive for attending class.
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2. Begin Building your Team: As your Real Estate Agents, we believe that our job is to work as your key Advocate. What do we mean by that? We will work with you to build your team, create a plan, find the best loan program for you and then find the right house to fit your needs.
There are many players involved in a Real Estate transaction; Buyer, Seller, Real Estate Agents, Lender, Title Company, Escrow Company, Building Inspector and Appraiser. As your key Advocates, our only goal is to support and guide you in accomplishing what YOU want to accomplish.
How do I find & choose a Real Estate Agent?
Tell me more about Agents Vicki Seelig & Milan Vincic.
Give me a brief description of the other players involved.
Questions? Contact Us.
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3. Review your Finances: You want to ask yourself the question: “How much am I comfortable paying each month for housing?” In order to know that answer, you will want to know your other expenses, your debts, your savings, your assets and your other long term goals. If you need to save money for a down payment and/or closing costs, a personal budget will help you to achieve your goal more quickly.
Your credit score is also an important number to know: in many cases it will help determine what loans and what interest rates you are eligible for.
You will need to be able to document your income. Most lenders are going to want to see at least 2 years of consistent employment. The more clarity you have for yourself regarding your finances, the better prepared you will be to choose the best loan program to suit your needs.
Sample Budget Form you can use.
Tell me more about credit scores.
What documentation will a Lender want from me?
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4. Choose your Loan program: What First Time Home Buyer loan programs do I qualify for? How much house can I afford? How do I choose a loan program? We will help you determine the best loan program.
Since we specialize in working with First Time Home Buyers we are aware of and have worked with virtually all of the First Time HomeBuyer Programs. One of our priorities is to help you choose the best loan program that you qualify for. We are your Real Estate Agents and not your Lenders, therefore, we are a great, neutral resource to help you determine which program is best for you.
Several factors will determine which programs will work for you. 1. Are you a First Time Home Buyer? Most often the criteria is that you have not owned any Real Estate for the past 3 years. So, yes the good news is that if you sold a house 4 years ago, but have not owned one since, then you are again qualified as a First Time Home Buyer. 2. Are you at 60% or less, 80%, 120% or higher of the median income for King or Snohomish County? This is a factor in several loan programs and in other programs, such as loans through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, there are set income limits. If you are at 120% or more of the local median income there are still special First Time Buyer programs that may work for you.
After choosing the loan program that will work best for you, you will begin the pre-approval process. A pre-approval letter is a crucial part of the Home Buying process. You will want to have your pre-approval letter and your good faith estimate in hand before beginning to shop for your new home.
Show me the current Median Income chart.
Show me the WSHFC Income Limits.
Tell me more about First Time Buyer Programs.
Loan Pre-qualification vs Pre-approval.
Questions? Contact Us.
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5. The Home Search begins: What priorities do you have for your First Home? Location, size: how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms etc. How do you locate the houses that will work best for you?
Hopefully, by this point in the process you have chosen, met with and begun working with a Real Estate Agent. If not, now is the time to choose one. Always have your own Real Estate Agent. Most often 2 Agents are involved in every transaction. By law the Agent who “lists” the house has legal responsibilities to the Seller i.e. it is their job to work in the best interest of the seller.
You want to have an Agent whose responsibility is to work in your best interest. We will build a search for you directly in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. We will work with you to create a search that targets all the houses that potentially meet your needs and fit within your financial parameters. And then… we will begin to go looking at the houses! We will look at has many as necessary until we find the house that fulfills your needs and fits within your financial criteria. Do not ever let anyone pressure you to hurry or to look at houses beyond your financial comfort level.
Tell me more about how houses are “listed” for sale.
What is the difference between a house, a condo and a townhouse?
Check out our Search Feature!
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6. Select, & Make an Offer: So now, we have been diligently looking & you have found the house that you think is THE ONE! This is the only time in the process that you want to move with some urgency. We want to write up an offer to purchase the house and submit it to the Seller as soon as possible. Our goal is to get signed, mutual agreement with the Seller before another Buyer comes along and submits an offer, potentially beating you out.
Once you have a mutually agreed upon offer with the seller, no matter how many other Buyers submit an offer, the Seller can not bump you out and choose another offer. With your offer, it is crucial that we include several addendums to give you, as the Buyer, some additional rights; such as an inspection addendum. This addendum gives you the right to have the house professionally inspected, by an inspector of your choice. Based on the inspection results: you may move forward with the purchase, renegotiate terms with the Seller or legally back out of the offer.
Tell me more about making an offer.
Do I have to have an inspection?
What are Sellers looking for in an offer?
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7. Moving from an Accepted Offer to a Closed Sale: Once your offer to purchase a home has been agreed to by the Seller, what are the next steps? How much time will elapse between your offer being accepted and the closing of the sale?
The closing of the sale is when you become the legal owner of the property: you have signed all your loan documents, paid the amount of money required of you, the seller has signed their required documents and the transfer of ownership has been recorded at the Courthouse. Typically, in this area, it takes about 30 to 45 days from the day your offer has been accepted to the closing of the sale.
During this time, many things are taking place: you complete your property inspection, you choose your Homeowners Insurance for the property, an appraiser is sent out to establish the value of the property, the Title Insurance is being researched, Escrow is collecting all necessary information and documents to complete the sale and most importantly, your Lender is doing all they work they do, to get your final loan approval and your loan documents prepared.
What is Title Insurance?
What is Escrow?
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8. You are a New Home Owner! CONGRATULATIONS!! What do I need to keep in mind as a homeowner? How do I prepare to manage maintenance, property taxes utilities etc?
All Houses need maintenance; as the homeowner, this will now be your responsibility. As part of your overall financial plan, you will want to begin to build a reserve account. Choose a percentage of your income (even if you start with a small amount and build up over time) and create a reserves savings account. That way, when things need to be repaired or replaced you will have some cash on hand to rely on.
Your lender will collect 1/12 of your annual property tax bill and Homeowners Insurance Bill as part of your monthly payment. This is called an escrow account. They will then pay these bills (using your money of course!) for you. You will receive an annual statement from your Lender showing the amount you paid in and the amount they paid out.
Also, don’t forget about income tax time!! You will be able to write off the total amount of interest, property taxes and mortgage insurance (if you paid mortgage insurance). Your Lender is required to send you a statement by January 31st each year, recapping the total amount of these that you paid. These are a “write off” on your income taxes. We suggest you consult with an account to take full advantage of these write offs.
AND MOST IMPORTANT: Please keep in touch!! We are here for you- if you have questions; please call. Our goal is to be your Real Estate Agents for life!
Questions? Contact Us
View class outline.
Check dates and locations for upcoming classes.
Register to attend a class.
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