Are you contemplating purchasing your new home in California, Texas, or Florida? Morris Williams Realty can help.

Buying a home intimidates many people. However, with a bit of up-front planning, it isn't too hard. So you'll know exactly what to expect, we like to give our buyers an overview of the entire deal. These are our nine steps to purchasing a home.

Step 1 – Prepare to buy
There are a lot of things you'll want to do before beginning your home search. It's likely that you'll want to form a check list of items you want to have, plan for what school districts and neighborhoods you want to live in, and start planning around your budget. A good guideline to follow is that your mortgage payment should be less than 30 percent of your net monthly income.

Step 2 – Communicate with a real estate agent
This is where Morris Williams Realty can help. We'd love to set up a time to get together with you and speak with you regarding why you want to buy a home and get an idea of your future plans. We'll discuss neighborhoods, school districts in the California, Texas, or Florida, the mortgage and housing industries, and any other economic factors that may potentially affect your purchase today or in the future.

We'll also assist you in getting started on your loan. There are some great mortgage professionals in California, Texas, or Florida, and we partner with a lot of them, so you're in great hands. They can assist you in figuring out which kind of loan is best for you and help you get qualified.

Step 3 – Begin looking
After our initial meeting, we'll start looking for available houses on the market that are a good fit for you. We'll get a sneak peek of most of the homes and reject the bad ones, and then we'll set up appointments to tour the homes when it's convenient for you.

When we tour the homes, we'll show you the positive features, as well as negative ones. we'll also ask you to point out what things you like and don't like. It's common for buyers to change their list of must-haves as we view homes and some features become far more substantial than others. If that's the situation, we'll look through all the listings one more time and trim it down to the house you've been waiting for.

Step 4 – Understand the housing market
An agent's awareness of the California, Texas, or Florida market is a necessary agent in your home search. And we can assure you we're very familiar with all the schools and neighborhoods, and we'll communicate some neighborhoods are "hot" and call for prompt action and the rest that are "cold" and allow for cautiousness.

When we view homes, we'll let you know when the asking price has room for bargaining and also when we believe the home is "priced to sell." When working with an agent, trust your instincts and be sure to ask lots of questions, as every REALTOR^® in California, Texas, or Florida will convince you they understand the home market. If it doesn't seem like they know everything, contact us at (888) 326-3949 or e-mail us at smorris@morriswilliamsrealty.com, and we'll be happy to answer any questions you have. Our market knowledge will help you stay a step ahead throughout the entire deal.

Step 5 – Find the house you've been looking for
We're certain we'll find your dream house in the California, Texas, or Florida. When that happens, we'll thoroughly develop your home purchase offer. The offer will be tailored keeping your needs in mind, including some contingencies. A few examples are obtaining financing, completing the home inspection, and a clean title.

When sending in your purchase offer, most likely you'll want to submit "earnest money." This is a cash deposit made to the home seller to secure an offer to buy the property, and it's usually put towards the closing costs. If the offer is accepted, we should close on the home about 30 to 60 days afterward. This allows enough time for your mortgage financing.

Step 6 – Negotiate
Unfortunately most contracts aren't closed on the first offer. It's pretty common to receive a counter offer. Don't let this alarm you. We'll figure out whether or not to take the counter offer, propose our own counter offer, or refuse the seller's offer and move on.

The state of the market determines how aggressively we negotiate the contract. We'll also work within your financing constraints. And at the end of the day, we'll assemble a contract that's best for you.

Step 7 – Get your loan
After the contract is signed, you'll start working with your lender to close the loan. If you've been pre-approved, it shouldn't be a long process at all, but you should to stay in close contact with your mortgage lender. And we'll care for all the property information your mortgage lender needs to close the loan.>

Step 8 – Close the deal
You'll get a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) detailing your closing costs from your mortgage lender within three days of accepting your application. This estimate is based on the loan amount. RESPA requirements dictate that it has to involve all closing costs and fall within a precise range of accuracy, and we'll analyze the estimate and let you know if it all looks all right.

Then it's time to close on your house. This will most likely happen at a title company or escrow office and will most often be a smooth and relaxing occurrence.

Step 9 – Move in
Success! It's time to move into your new home. Enjoy it. And if you need anything, simply call us at (888) 326-3949 or send us an e-mail.