Buying a home for the first time can seem like an overwhelming task. Youíre making the biggest financial decision of your life, and there is so much to consider. It helps a lot to understand the process from beginning to end. In this article, I'll walk you through the entire process of buying a house in Forest Lakes so that your entire home buying experience will go more smoothly.

Step #1  Getting Your Mortgage Pre-Approved

As we both know, lenders aren't nearly as lenient as they used to be. It's important to find both a good lender and a good loan officer to handle your loan, preferably before you even go out to see properties.

The loan officer will usually want to know what your assets are, what your credit score is and your debt to income ratio.

Step #2 Finding a Home You Like

The next step in the process is to find a home in Forest Lakes that appeals to you. Make sure you see a good number of houses before you make your decision, so that you know what the options are.

Step #3 The Offer and Negotiation Process

Crafting a good offer is vitally important. It's important to work with a real estate agent who understands how to choose contingencies, clauses, the right amount to offer, and good negotiation strategies.

Once you've made your offer, the seller will usually make a counter offer. It's rare that the seller will accept your offer up front. Once you both come to an agreement on the price and terms, the contract becomes binding.

Check out video drive-throughs of all the Forest Lakes neighborhoods, GoTo: Forest Lakes Properties

Here's an example of a vidwo drive-through in the Pleasant Ridge part of Forest Lakes South:

Step #4 Completing the Home Purchase

Once the contract has been agreed on, then you must complete the home inspection and the seller will make any necessary repairs.

Then your loan will be finalized with your loan officer.

Finally, closing or escrow is where all the documents are signed, the deed and title are signed over, the seller is paid and the keys are handed over.

In brief, that is what the home buying process looks like in Forest Lakes. There is a lot of free information available to you about buying real estate in Forest Lakes. For complete information about the  Forest Lakes real estate market including current homes for sale, property values and more please visit the most complete website online dedicated to everything Forest Lakes real estate, at Forest Lakes Properties. Please feel free to contact me with any of your real estate or mortgage related questions and I will be more than glad to answer your questions.

Sponsored by:

Fulton W. Gaylord--Assoc Broker, SRES, ABR, e-Pro
Authorized HUD Representative, Certified REO Specialist
Keller Williams Realty
1885 Seminole Trail, Suite 100
Charlottesville  VA  22901
434-220-2228

Fulton@KW.com

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