The Buyers Process

1 – Obtain lender information : From a lender, get a pre-approval. To obtain this, you have DenverHomeSearches.com get your Social Security info, your Date(s) of Birth, your current addresses for last 2 years, your employers name address and phone number for past 2 years, general income information, revolving bills (we can explain). An idea of your general assets (savings accounts, stocks, bonds, etc). We take this information to one or more of our lenders and we have them run one credit report so you don't have to pay for it. This allows us to understand what type of loan you would use and the $ amount of the home you can afford or want to afford (could be less than your approval). In addition, we will learn what the various lender charge for the loan at this time (Good Faith Estimate). The lender will not verify your statements at this time, but will request copies of bank statements in a week or two to verify savings, stocks, and various assets required for the loan. You do not need to complete this documentation until you know you have completed step 5 below.

2 – Review homes : Begin the process of looking at and viewing homes that fit your pre-approval and desired home pricing. Look at the parts of town that you may like and look at the types of homes that you like (old vs new, etc).

3 – Make Offer on a home : In order to make an offer on a home, you need 3 things:

A) Offer Contract, and disclosure forms signed (square footage, lead based paint if applicable, closing instructions, property disclosure).

B) Earnest money check,

C) Lender letter: which states that you are pre-approved to buy a $XXX.XX priced home.

4 – Negotiate the Pricing and Terms of the home: This is done by DenverHomeSearches (Me) based on your wishes. Offers are also made based on the loan type on the home and the conditions that the lender and buyer (you) may have.

5 – Seal Agreement : This is where the buyer and seller agree to terms and both sign the offer agreement.

6 – Inspection of Home : By a date in the contract. Typically 6 to 10 days from the “Sealing of the Agreement”, you have a professional inspector, inspect the home for safety and health issues such as bad roof, bad furnace, bad foundation, bad electrical, plumbing, etc. The general condition of the home is otherwise considered to be “As Is” and you would have seen this through your visits/inspections of the home. If there are problems discovered, I type them up on an Inspection objection report and turn them over to the sellers broker BEFORE the inspection due date on the contract. The seller responds and if we agree to the proposed repairs, we sign as such and continue on to the next key date in the contract.

7 – Final Loan Application completed: You get in contact with the lender and complete the Federal Form 1003 questions that I will give you in advance. This will allow the lender to obtain the final loan approvals necessary and collect documents necessary to satisfy the “underwriter” putting the loan together for the investor. These are the details mentioned at the end of Step 1 above. The lender will also have the “lending appraisal” done on the home to make sure the home is worth the loan amount.

8 – Loan Approval : We get official loan approval from the lender. This is usually a simple phone call or e-mail. At this point, we are just waiting for the closing day. This means that the documents are completed and the appraisal is good for the lender. If based on your loan, you need to bring money to the closing, you need to have what is called “ Good Funds ”. This is a check that is made out to the Title Company in the form of a Bank check or a certified check or a wire transfer done a day or three before the closing. You cannot bring a personal check.

9 – Attend Closing : (Bring your drivers license) At the Title Company office, this is where you sign the documents, give your down payment, get your keys, take official ownership of the home.