Ready, set, buy a home...

What are the steps necessary to purchase a home? The first step is to go to a lender and reveal your income and debts and apply for pre-approval. The next step is to look for a home. A good Realtor is a wonderful beginning to this process. Make sure this is someone who is knowledgeable and full time.

Location is the most important aspect of the property you are purchasing. Secure information on the Internet and learn the types of housing available within your budget. Do not base your choices on color of carpet or paint -- these are things that you can change. Base your decision on location and floor plan. Does this property suit your lifestyle? When you have selected the neighborhood, view every property in that neighborhood in your price range and investigate all of the active listings. Ask your Realtor to pull the sales, homes under contract and active listings from the Multiple Listing Service.

Understand the contract you are signing, and do not hesitate to ask the agent to explain this contract in detail. I would also suggest an "inspection addendum" that gives the buyer the right to cancel the contract and receive a return of deposits if the inspection of the property reveals a problem you cannot accept. After a contract has been negotiated to a meeting of the minds on price and terms, you should apply for your mortgage.

Next are the inspections. Hiring an inspector is an essential part of checking out a home.
Ask if there is anything that you, the buyer, should be concerned with now or in the near future. Ask the inspector if he thinks there is anything in the home that indicates a further inspection is necessary. In Florida, you should always have a termite inspection. If the inspection is acceptable and the items you want to be repaired are agreeable to the seller, you now go to the next step.

The mortgage company or lending institution will order an appraisal of the home to determine the opinion of value based on current comparable sales in the neighborhood. The appraisal may come in low. Appraisers are guided, in this timeframe, to be conservative. I disagree that the appraiser should be guided this way. I believe the appraisal should be accurate and based on current sales, not a forecast of doom and gloom for the future.

The market value will never recover if appraisals are mandated to eliminate any appreciation in the market. But I do not guide the appraisers and banks nor do I create the value. You should also do a final walkthrough of the home before you close. Take time to make sure that the closing costs, interest rate and amount due at closing are what you had expected. The market is great and the interest rates are low. There could not be a more perfect time to purchase, so feel good, you are now a part of the American dream.