Here’s a simple, helpful walk-through of the entire home buying process from start to finish.

Decide on your new neighborhood.
Spend some time researching the cities and neighborhoods that appeal to you. Be sure to think about your “must haves” – for example, do you want to be near a good elementary school, or shorten your daily commute? What about county, parish or township taxes?

Apply for home financing.
This is an essential second step. Be sure to do this before you begin viewing homes – your Caliber Home Loans Loan Consultant can pre-qualify* you for financing so you can limit your search to affordable properties. You’ll also receive a Loan Estimate with details of your proposed financing.

Find the right property.
Hiring a REALTOR® to assist you can save you time and money. In addition to sharing his or her knowledge of neighborhoods and available properties, a REALTOR® can help negotiate a better price with the seller.

Discuss your financing options with your Loan Consultant.
Depending on your credit score, down payment, and other factors, you may qualify for more than one loan product. Your Loan Consultant will help you decide which one is the best fit.

Arrange for a home inspection.
Even though Caliber will have your home professionally appraised, it’s always a good idea to hire a professional home inspector – especially if you’re buying an older home. If any major problems are found, you may be able to negotiate repairs or a repair allowance with the home’s seller.

Get ready to close on your home’s financing.
Your Loan Consultant will present you with a Closing Disclosure. This document clearly states the true cost of your home’s financing, the funds owed at closing and any applicable conditions. You’ll also need to shop for homeowner’s insurance before closing.

The big day’s here!
During your closing, you’ll sign your loan documents and present funds to cover your down payment and other costs. Depending on your state, you may receive a deed of trust that secures your mortgage note and other documents related to your purchase.

Now … all that’s left is to collect the keys to your home and celebrate!

*A pre-qualification is not an approval of credit and does not signify that underwriting requirements have been met.

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The Closing Process on Your Home Purchase

Congratulations your offer has been accepted by the seller and you are now in the closing process. Unlike other states California uses Escrow companies to assist in the closing process. They will collect your down payment typically by wire transfer to get the process started.

Once escrow has been opened and your deposit has been received, they will start with the documentation. They will take the purchase contract and create the escrow document which basically outlines the tasks and terms from the purchase contract. They will take the financial terms outlined in the Residential Purchase Contract and work with you and your lender if a loan is involved in your purchase. From this they will create a settlement statement outlining all of your financial terms. From this you will know exactly how much funds you will need to complete the transaction.

While escrow works the financial side and collects and disperses funds. You will typically have your home inspection. The home inspections main purpose is to verify the condition of the major items in a home. They are concerned with and will check Electrical, Plumbing, Structural integrity, Heating and Air conditioning, and roof. Should they find something that is not right they will advise further inspection. As an example; if they see an issue with the roof they will recommend getting a licensed roofing contractor to do a full inspection and advise on the repair costs if any. Once we get the inspection report you have the option of creating a request for repair document and ask the seller to repair items or provide a credit so you have items repaired.

If a loan is involved you will be completing the full loan application and providing documentation to the lender such as bank statements, tax returns and  W2 forms or paystubs. The lender will review items and might ask for clarification on some items or ultimately issue full approval.

Once you have completed your inspections and have full approval you might be asked to remove contingencies (17 days inspections and 21 days for loan). Once contingencies are remove should you have to back out of the transaction you would forfeit your good faith deposit.

Also during this initial phase of the closing you will receive a package of documents from escrow for you to complete. Some of the documents will ask how you want to hold title of the property, Natural Hazard reports. You will also receive a batch of documents from the seller that are their disclosures of any issues or known problems with the property. It is important they you review these carefully!

A couple of days before the closing date if a loan was involved in the purchase you will be asked to sign the loan documents. Once signed they will go back to the lender for review. Once approved the lender will be ready to fund the transaction. If no loan was used for the purchase you will be asked to deposit funds into escrow for closing.

Once funds are received escrow will be ready to complete the transaction. They will submit documents to the county to be recorded. Once escrow received recording confirmation from the county the transaction is complete and you will make arrangements to get keys to the property.

Congratulations you are now a new homeowner!.