Steele Canyon Realty

1. 1. Define your goals, research your options, and make plans: Given that buying a home is such a big step, it's all the more important for you to educate and prepare yourself as much as possible in advance. This means clearly determining why your buying and what kind of home you are looking for.
2. 2. Contact a Realtor (see our list of qualified Realtors): Buying real estate is a complex matter at the best of times, given that there are so many factors to consider and no two homes or transactions are alike. However, with all the unique opportunities and potential pitfalls, its even more important to choose a professional. In choosing a Realtor, you get someone that will help you throughout the property search, financing, negotiation and transaction processes.
3. 3. Get Pre-Approved for a loan! (start here): Generally, it is recommended that you get pre-qualified for a loan before you start viewing homes with the serious intention of buying. The pre-approval process involves meeting with a lender and authorizing them to examine your current financial situation and credit history. This will help you determine how much you can borrow to buy a home. Download this check list of all the documents you will need at your appointment.
4. 4. View Homes and select THE ONE! (start your search here): Simply put, key to the home process is knowing what you're looking for. Among other things, that means distinguishing between "must haves" and "like to haves". To help you target your search and define your home preferences, this downloadable guide includes some of the decisions to make. It is also important to view properties in person and not just online. While details maybe similar, homes can actually be very different in terms of layout, design, workmanship and other aspects. In addition, you should ideally view homes with  a realtor, who'll notice things you might miss and provide expert analysis.
5. 5. Make an offer and negotiate with the seller:  Now that you've found the home you like, its time to make an offer. Your local real estate association, working with legal counsel, has developed the contracts that are used for transactions in your area. These contracts enable you to specify a sale price and also include many clauses for specifying various terms of purchase, such as closing and possession dates, your deposit amount and other conditions. You should carefully review these clauses with your Realtor to ensure they express your desired offer. In addition to the contract, your realtor will be happy to address all your questions about your offer. Once written, your realtor will present the offer to the seller and the seller's representative. At that point, the process given that a home's eventual sales price is subject to supply and demand-will depend on the kind of market you are in. Generally though, the seller can accept your offer, reject it, or counter to initiation the negotiation process.
6. 6. Secure your Financing: Once you have a pending agreement with the seller, it's time to go back to your chosen lender to finalize your mortgage details so you can close the deal. This means finalizing your down payment, interest rate, regular payment schedule and any other financial conditions associated with the deal.
7. 7. Close the Deal! If you've efficiently taken care of everything connected with purchasing your home, the experience of taking ownership will be a positive joy with no surprises. Key steps to closing , also referred to as the "escrow" or settlement include:
   1. 1.Getting a title search
   2. 2. The final walkthrough
   3. 3. The settlement
8. 8. Oh, and one more thing THE KEYS!

If we can help you with this process, please send us your information so we can get started!