No doubt about it, being a first time home buyer in Maryland or Virginia can be frightening. Buying a home is a very complicated procedure.  Home buyers all go through the same steps:

Selecting a buyer's agent
Getting pre-qualified
Touring homes in the selected area and price range
Negotiating the Contract of Sale
Making loan application
The Home Inspection
The Termite Inspection
Arranging for Title services
Attending the closing, paying for the home and getting the keys to your newly purchased home.

Home buyers who have purchased a home below understand that most of the process is managed by the buyer's agent in cooperation with the lender, inspectors, the title company and anything that happens is usually routine.  However, first time home buyers in Maryland and Virginia are not familiar with the procedures and are often a bit frightened at the prospect of having everything go smoothly.

Your HOMEFINDERS.COM buyer's agent will be with you every step of the way, from search to settlement.  So, relax and let us help. 

Finding Your First Home in Maryland or Virginia.
Let's take a tour.  Homefinders.com is always ready to take new home buyers on a tour of homes to help you understand what your money will buy. 

What Will Your Money Buy??
The first step in any home search is to determine the price range.  Your Homefinders.com buyer's agent will gladly pre-qualify you for a price range based on your income, assets and liabilities, regular monthly debt payments.  Home buyers are qualified to spend a percentage of their gross monthly income for mortgage payments including principal, interest, taxes and insurance "P.I.T.I.

Once we have determined your qualifying price range, your Homefinders.com buyer's agent will schedule a tour of homes.  This is a very important step in the home buying process because it will help first time home buyers really understand what the homes in their price range are.  Often our Maryland and Virginia home buyers are from out of town, relocating for a job transfer, and don't understand that the Maryland and Northern Virginia real estate market is quite expensive compared to some other parts of the country. 

To help our home buyers understand what their money will buy, the first home tour is critical. We often meet home buyers who are qualified for a particular price range, but want to keep their payments much lower than that for which they are qualified.  Seeing home in their selected price is important.  Homefinders.com will gladly show you homes in a selected price range as long as our buyers are happy with the homes they see. 

YOU ARE READY TO BUY
Once you have toured homes and are satisfied with homes in your price range and location of choice, it's time to get prepared with a "LENDER'S LETTER". It's important to be ready with a Lender's Letter in case you see a home on which
you wish to make an offer. Real estate sales in Maryland and Northern Virginia is a very sophisticated market and sellers do not seriously consider home buyers who have not been "CREDIT APPROVED" by a recognized lender. It's important
that home buyers be prepared to buy. Without a Lender's Letter, you are not ready to buy. If you already have a lender of choice, contact them and request a Lender's Letter. If you are not already working with a lender, your Homefinders.com buyer's agent will gladly refer you to experienced local lenders who will prepare a letter for you following a review of your credit report and considering your cash, income factors. 

Once you have (1) found your home of choice (2) obtained the Lender's Letter, you are ready for your Homefinders.com buyer's agent to prepare a WRITTEN CONTRACT OF SALE OFFER.  All offers to buy real estate in Maryland and Virginia are in writing.  Nothing else will be taken seriously and your Homefinders.com buyer's agent will want to make sure that your offer is given a serious review. The seller, with the listing agent will review all offers.  They have the option of (1) accepting the offer as written, (2) making a counter-offer, or (3) rejecting the offer. 

Let's jump ahead and assume that the contract was negotiated and accepted and you now have a Contract of Sale.  Time to make a formal loan application.  Some of the documents that will be needed are

• Copy of Contract of Sale
• 2 years W-2 Forms
• 2 months bank statements
• 3 months earnings statements
• Landlord name, address and phone
• VA Certificate of Eligibility for VA buyers

Relax And Wait For Settlement