The Homebuying Process
For most of us a house is the biggest purchase we will ever make and doing it for the first time can be a daunting proposition. The best way to combat this is with information. By reducing the number of unknowns the first time buyer can come to feel more comfortable with the home buying process. Your REALTOR is there to represent and help you in all aspects of your purchase all the way through to the end.
The process begins with ideas about the type of house desired, its size and location. Right up front it is important to talk to a lender who will help determine what price range you can qualify for (it is best to use a local high desert lender, your REALTOR can help you find one). Qualifying will depend on your credit score. It is a waste of time looking at houses beyond your price range so this step should be completed early on. There are many different loan programs and there are closing costs to be paid when purchasing a home.Mobile/Manufactured homes can make a good starter home and they are often on two or more acre lots. Be aware that not all lenders handle Mobile/Manufactured homes and if you already have a prequal letter you should check to see if it applies. Another possibility is a "fixer upper", if you have skills in that area this can be an opportunity to buy in at a lower price. Consider a "cosmetic fixer" that can be completely refurbished with paint, wallpaper, new floor and window coverings, landscaping and new appliances. You should avoid run-down houses that need major structural repairs. You may be able to obtain a HUD 203(k) rehab loan to cover the cost of the fix up work as well as the purchase price of the property. 
Your REALTOR will provide you with listings (from the Multiple Listing Service) that fit your criteria and will take you to view the homes that look promising. Eventually you will find the right home for you and the next step will be to make an offer. Making an offer consists of filling out the necessary forms, writing a check for the deposit and providing a prequal or pre approval letter from your lender.Your offer is submitted to the seller who must decide how to react to it. If he has a better offer then he is likely to reject yours. If your offer is satisfactory then we hope he will accept it. If he wants to change some aspect of your offer he may issue a counter offer and then we will be in a negotiation situation. If he really does not like your offer he may decide not to respond at all. Once your offer is accepted an escrow will be opened and your check will be deposited. At this point there is a legally binding contract between you and the seller so if you have second thoughts and decide to back out then you can expect to lose your deposit. As a safeguard, there are some points along the way where you can cancel the contract and receive your deposit back if something bad is discovered about the house. There may be contingencies written into the contract which allow you to cancel and receive your deposit back if the house does not appraise for the purchase price or if your loan is ultimately denied. The seller is required to disclose to you any defects in the property that he has knowledge of. This is accomplished by providing a set of disclosures where seller answers questions about the condition of the property. 
It is highly recommended that you obtain a home inspection (your REALTOR can arrange that for you). This is done early in the escrow period and frequently results in the buyer submitting a Request for Repairs to the seller. Once again the seller has a choice on how to react. He may agree to make all of the repairs or some of them or none of them. If negotiations do not conclude satisfactorily (rare) then you may terminate the contract and receive your deposit back.A Natural Hazard Zone Disclosure report will be provided to you, if this reveals unacceptable information then again you could terminate the contract and receive your deposit back. A Preliminary Title report will be provided to you, if this reveals unacceptable information then again you could terminate the contract and receive your deposit back. At the close of escrow a policy of Title Insurance will be issued to you. 
Your lender will require a Homeowners Insurance Policy. During the escrow period you should consult with insurance providers to select a policy that suits your needs. In the rare event that the property is found to be uninsurable for some reason then once again you could terminate the contract and receive your deposit back.
As the escrow proceeds the home will be inspected for Wood Destroying Pests (termites) and, if applicable, the septic system will be inspected. Sometimes problems will be discovered that the seller must fix prior to close of escrow. This can, on occasion, cause a delay resulting in escrow not closing on time.In an ideal world escrow would close on the expected date but all too often this does not happen resulting in considerable inconvenience for both buyer and seller. You should be prepared for this, escrow cannot close until the lender places the funds into the account and it is not uncommon for this to be delayed. Escrows do have their ups and downs and can be a very emotional time. Lenders give loan approval based on the buyers credit rating and financial condition. It is very important that you not do anything to change your credit score or anything else that your lender relied upon to approve you until after the close of escrow. Do not make any major purchases or change your job because you could discover at the last minute that you no longer qualify for your loan and the purchase would fall through. Shortly before close of escrow your lender will issue the loan documents for you to sign, usually this is done at the escrow office. Following this the lender will issue funding conditions which must be met before they will fund the loan (deposit the funds into escrow). By this time escrow should have notified you of the dollar amount of the funds that you must provide prior to close of escrow. A cashiers check is required (or you can wire the funds) unless you paid by check early enough that it has had time to clear. A few days before close of escrow your REALTOR will schedule a final walk through. The purpose of this is to verify that the agreed to repairs have been made and that the house is still in substantially the same condition as the day the offer was made. It is not intended to be an opportunity to look for additional repair work that buyer might like to have done. 
After your lender funds the loan, escrow will arrange for the title to record (at the county recorders office) the next business day. At that time your escrow is closed and you become the new owner of the home. Depending on how the contract was written you may be able to move in immediately or the seller may have a few days to move out.Most likely it was written into the contract for the seller to provide you with a one year home warranty. The combination of home inspection and home warranty is intended to protect you from problems with your new home and in large measure they do. It should be pointed out that both the inspection and the warranty have their limitations and so it is possible for something to come up that is not covered by either, in this event it will be your responsibility to take care of the problem. Your REALTOR does not charge a fee when you purchase a home, he gets paid out of the sellers commission but only when escrow closes. When he is showing you houses he is driving you around in his own car and paying for his own gas. It is important to pick a REALTOR who can provide the level of service you are looking for so that you can stay with him for the duration. I am a trained and certified GMAC Quality Service provider, if you would like to work with me on your home purchase just drop me an email with your phone number and I will call you to discuss your requirements. If you prefer I can set you up to receive new listings automatically as soon as they come on the market, just fill out this simple form to tell me what you are looking for and I will arrange it.
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