| An
overview of the US Home Buying Process
Make
no mistake, there's a lot involved in getting a home
in the United States. Although the goal is the same,
the process is most likely a little different here
than what you're used to. But that's okay, because
we're going to do most of the heavy lifting for you
so you can concentrate on what's important -- preparing
to move into your new home, saving money, or making
plans for rental scheme.
There
are four main steps involved in getting a loan and
successfully purchasing property in the US. You may
notice that you have already completed some of these
steps, skipped some, or that some don't apply to you.
Rest assured when you speak with your mortgage advisor
you will collectively determine what is still lacking
and needs to be done. We prefer, however, to give
you all the steps from the absolute start to the absolute
end. We find the more informed you are the better
we can work for you.
Step one: determine how much you can borrow
If
you have not found or seriously begun looking for
a property yet this is where you should probably start.
Determining how much you can borrow will allow you
to project if buying property is feasable for you
at this time, and if it is, give your real estate agent
a good idea of what properties to look for on your
behalf.
Your
borrowing limit is a function of a couple things.
How much of a monthly payment can you afford? And
given your unique credit and employment history, income,
debt, and goals, how much will a lender loan you?
The first part you can get a rough idea of by using
the calculators on
our website. The second part can quickly be done by
completing and submitting our PreQual Form (or you
can also get a good idea by going to our
Residential Terms
section). Once completed, we
should be able to email you a good faith estimate
(showing an estimate of your closing costs
and rate) and a Pre-Qualification letter (showing
your upper loan amount) within 48 hours.
Please
keep in mind, neither of these items will be
considered a "loan committment" or "loan approval"
on our part. Although we wish
it was this simple, the PreQual stage is just our knowledge
and experience saying that we see no obvious
problems with your eventually securing a loan
for the stated amount. The actual loan
approval only comes after you have completed
a full loan application,
submitted whatever additional personal financial documents
we will need including a purchase
contract for the property in question, and our underwriter
has had time to review it.
Step
two: find your home
Once
you have your pre-qualification letter and good
faith estimate handle it with care -- to a home seller,
it's like a suitcase full of cash! Your real estate agent
will use your Pre-Qual (as they may call it)
to make the best offer on the home you choose, and
the seller knows you're pre-qualified. It gives you
buying clout! You can feel confident in using
one of the real estate agents or developers we recommend
on this web site or find one of your own. The
important thing is that you get people knowledgeable
about the area you are wanting to purchase working
on your behalf.
Possibly
unlike your home country, it is important for you
to realize that you do not need to shop multiple
real estate agents to get multiple home listings.
If you find one that you like, who most importantly
seems to have an intimate grasp of the property economics
in your preferred area, then you should feel comfortable
using only them. All real estate agents in the
US have access to the same property listing and pricing
information through MLS, so it is more a function
of their knowledeage and ability to work with
you on a personal basis. Additionally, real estate agents, much like ourselves,
will not ask you to pay anything up front.
OF
IMPORTANCE: Most
people prefer to come to the U.S. prior to finalizing
the purchase contract on their chosen property.
While in the U.S. for any reason,
is the preferred time to open a U.S. bank account
for a checking/and or savings account. It is
very difficult these days, if not impossible for you
to open a U.S. bank account from outside the
country, as you must show up in person for I.D. verification.
Rest assured, however, that your mortgage lender will
require you have one open. So, if you are in
the U.S. for any reason, it is advisable to get
this item crossed off your list of things to
get done.
Step
three: apply now ! We make it easy
Once you've made an offer on a home and it's been
accepted, it's a good time to complete the loan application.
It couldn't be easier, and you can apply online, right here at our website. In
the loan application section we even give you a list
of the "standard" documents
you will want to begin gathering, and an estimate
of the timeline you should
expect. Typically, we like to have a good four
weeks to process your loan from the time we receive
you application and documents (so please keep this
in mind when negotiating your closing date with the
seller).
Step four: your loan is approved
Your
realty agent and the seller's will work together to
designate an escrow/title company to handle the funding
of your loan once it's approved. We'll also need coordinate
with the title company and yourself to make sure
all the papers your lender will need are in order,
and if your not in the country in most situations
we can even send the paperwork to you in your
home country for final signing.
Please
continue on to the Loan Process section
to gain a better understanding of the details involved
in getting your loan from an 'approval' status to
'cleared to close'.
|
