The Ultimate Who and What Guide for First-time Homeowners

Are you a first-time homebuyer? Having trouble understanding who and what everything involved into the process actually means? We’re here to help. We’ve created this simple Who and What Guide for First-time Homeowners. We hope that it helps you get ahead in the home buying process! Check it out below.

What is an appraisal?
After your offer is accepted on your home, you will have an appraisal completed. An appraisal will tell you exactly how much your home is worth. You can learn more about what an appraiser looks for here.

Who is a mortgage lender?
A mortgage broker is responsible for determining whether or not you may be approved for a mortgage loan.

What does a mortgage lender do?
A mortgage lender works with the bank to decide what rates you qualify for. Basically, your mortgage lender will become the middleman between you and the bank you take your loan out from.

What does it mean to be “pre-approved”?
Before you actually begin looking at home, it’s wise to get pre-approved. This means, you have a preliminary meeting with a mortgage lender to determine what your rates will be, as well as how expensive of a home you can afford.

Who is an inspector? And what do they do?
After you put an offer on a home, you will hire an inspector. They will make sure that your home is up to code and provide you with a list of necessary action items you should take.

What is an average downpayment?
Typically, most people put down about 3-5{16e476496f5f3a73cb19f20a476d08f8bca71b0bf9338242f1d2bf6ed337f382} of the home’s value.

Who is a listing agent?
The listing agent is the real estate agent responsible for selling the home.

What is a purchase agreement?
A purchase agreement is a document that outlines what is included with your home at the time of purchase. You can learn more about purchase agreements, by checking out this blog post.

Make sure that you understand the homebuying process before you even start. The more you know, the easier the process will be. To learn more about the home-buying process, be sure to watch all of our first-time homebuyer’s videos, here.