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Hey, good afternoon. This is Jeb Smith, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage here in Huntington Beach and today I want to talk about the first steps in the home buying process. So often when I’m sitting at open houses or talking to perspective buyers, one of the first questions that I often get asked is what are the first steps? What should I do if I’m looking to buy a house? What I tell everybody is the first thing you should do is talk to a mortgage professional. This is someone that are mortgage brokers out there, there are people that work at banks, what have you, you know there’s a lot of different directions to go with this but talk to someone that is a qualified professional in the mortgage business who can discuss that process with you rather.

What they’re going to want to see is they’re going to want to see income, they’re going to want to see your assets, they’re going to want to run your credit, and they’re going to have the conversation with you to find out what it is you’re trying to accomplish. I mean, is there a payment goal that you’re trying to stay under? Are you just trying to see how much you can … What’s the max you can qualify for? There’s a lot of different options with regards to the qualifying aspect but at the end of the day that mortgage professional can look at your documentation and then from there take that documentation and look at the guidelines, if you will, and say okay, this is your credit score, this is how much money you make, this is how much money you have to put down, so this is essentially how much you’re qualified to purchase.

With that, once you have that number and you’re comfortable with the monthly payment that’s associated with that, that’s when it’s a good time to bring a realtor into the equation because once a realtor knows the max that you can qualify for with regards to a purchase price, then that realtor can guide you towards properties that meet that criteria that you’re looking for in a home.

Often people will go out looking at property and don’t get pre-approved and it’s a backwards way to do it because you’re out there looking at property that you may not be able to afford and then your expectations change or you can be out there looking at property that you might be able to afford quite a bit more. It’s always good to get that done and that way if you’re interested in making an offer, you have that step of the process complete.

It also shows anybody that you’re working with that you’re a serious buyer, because if you’ve gone through the process of getting pre-qualified, then if I see that and I’m working with a buyer, then I know that buyer is serious and I can trust what is being said because if we’re out looking at property and they want to make an offer and we have a pre-approval letter, then we have the full package of things that we can submit.

If you’re out there looking at property and you haven’t done the pre-approval process, you’re kind of behind the eight ball so to speak, and so it’s going to take longer to get that process moving forward if you haven’t done the pre-approval. Pre-approvals are free, they shouldn’t cost you anything to get out there and get one. If you need someone to speak to, let me know, I’m happy to refer you to someone locally. I mean, even if you’re nationwide, I can refer you to someone. I network with a lot of professionals across the country. I’m happy to put you in touch with somebody that can help you.

If you have additional questions about the pre-approval process, about the home buying process, feel free to reach out to me directly. Check out my other videos here on YouTube. As always, I appreciate you taking the time to watch and hope to hear or hope to see you again soon. Bye bye.

 

Other videos you might find helpful: Orange County Real Estate Market Update – https://youtu.be/Za9sxP3jqjM

How Much Deposit Do I Need To Buy a House? https://youtu.be/6OUqU919cpo

What does contingent mean in Real Estate?: https://youtu.be/_yq2tlynSzA

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If you would like more specific information about your home, please contact me directly at 714.376.2711 or jeb@jebsmith.net.