The process of buying a home or investment generally starts with determining your buying power; that is, your financial reserves plus your borrowing capacity. If you give a real estate agent some basic information about your available savings, income and current debt, they can refer you to lenders best qualified to help you. Your agent can help you in understanding different financing options and in identifying qualified lenders.

Tips for the Home Buyer

1) "How much house can I afford?" - Most buyers ask themselves this question at one time or another.

2) Locate your home - How do you go about finding the right property? It is one of the biggest decisions in your life. Once you do, make a well calculated offer.

3) Do the financing - Understand the issues surrounding obtaining your mortgage - rates terms, points, and variable versus fixed rates.

The process of obtaining financing should begin before you start your property search.

Finding Your dream home

Once you know how much you can and want to invest, the next step is to find the properties that most nearly fit your needs. This is the time to choose a real estate licensee.

When picking a real estate agent look for one who is also a REALTOR®
A REALTOR® is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a real estate trade association, and all members agree to abide by a 17 article Code of Ethics. A REALTOR® has many resources to assist you in that search. Sometimes the property you are seeking is available but not actively advertised in the market, and it will take some investigation by your agent to find all available properties.)