The home buying process: step by step

Buying a home is not something that you do every day and can be seem like a daunting task. We want you to feel more confident in your home buying journey, so we have broken down the steps of the home buying process below.

01 SELECT A REAL ESTATE AGENT

The Seller has their own agent and so should you. A Buyer Broker will advocate, advise and negotiate on your behalf.

02 MAKE IT OFFICIAL

The Buyer Broker Agreement is the agent’s employment agreement and outlines his or her duties and responsibilities to you, the client.

03 EVALUATE YOUR BUDGET

It is really important that you know how you are spending your money and that YOU DECIDE how much mortgage you can afford.

04 GET PRE-APPROVED WITH A LENDER

A full pre-approval involves more than just pulling a credit score and looking at your last pay stub. Starting the pre-approval process early helps ensure that there are no surprises.

05 EARNEST MONEY AND NEW CREDIT

You will need 1-2% of the Purchase Price available for Earnest Money. If these funds are not currently liquid, speak with your agent and lender. Always check with your lender before taking out any new credit.

06 ENVISION YOUR DREAM HOME

Then define your must-haves. Location, commuting times, schools… are important things to consider.

07 VIRTUALLY TOUR HOMES ONLINE

We will create a customized home search portal to make it easy!

08 TOUR PROPERTIES

Once you have narrowed down your top home choices online, it’s time to hit the streets!

Dream home found! Enough said.

09 MAKE AN OFFER

Your agent will guide you through the process of making an offer. This involves evaluating comparable homes sales, uncovering the Seller’s negotiating hot buttons and devising an offer strategy.

10 NEGOTIATING

our agent will negotiate on your behalf, and coach you through the offer and counter-offer process.

11 OFFER ACCEPTED

The dates that all parties reach a signed agreement and notice is received by the Broker(s) is deemed as contract acceptance date.

12 DUE DILIGENCE

A 10-Day Due Diligence (Buyer inspection period) is customary unless negotiated otherwise in the contract.

13 BUYER INSPECTION NOTICE

As a Buyer, you generally have the contractual right to cancel the contract if you find something troublesome during your due diligence period or to ask the Seller to remedy.

14 NEGOTIATE REPAIRS

You generally have the right to ask the Seller to remedy items found during the inspection. The Seller is not obligated to make all repairs, so negotiation is required.

15 APPRAISAL

If you are getting a loan to help fund the purchase, the lender will require an appraisal. If the home does not appraise for at least the purchase price, you may cancel the contract.

16 CONDITIONAL LOAN APPROVAL

After the appraisal is received, your lender can submit your loan for final underwriting. The underwriter will come back with a loan approval, subject to conditions.

17 FINAL LOAN APPROVAL AND DOCS

Once the conditions have been satisfied and cleared by the underwriter, loan docs can be ordered and sent to the title company.

18 SIGN PURCHASE AND LOAN DOCUMENTS

Signing occurs at the title company, generally 3-5 days before closing.

19 FINAL WALK-THROUGH

The final walkthrough gives you time to confirm that the seller made all agreed upon repairs, and to check that no new issues have cropped up since the home inspection

20 CLOSING AND KEYS

“Closing” occurs on the date the deed transferring the property from Seller to Buyer is recorded with the county recorder. This could take place any time before 5pm on the Closing date. Once confirmation of recording is received, you can have your keys!

At Elpis Real Estate we strive to educate and keep our clients informed every step of the way so we can make this important life decision as seamless and stress-free as possible. If you would like to explore buying a home with us, please reach out! We would love to get to know you and walk you through your home buying journey.

You may also like
Decoding Your Arizona Commitment for Title Insurance: A Home Buyer's Guide
Title Insurance: Understanding the Types and Importance in Arizona's Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract
The Arizona Home Buyer Advisory: A Resource from the Arizona Association of Realtors' and the Arizona Department of Real Estate