First Things First

If you are making a particular meal for the first time, it is essential to have a recipe so that it turns out the way it should.  Knowing the ingredients and preparation can guide you through the process.

Buying a home is really no different than making a new recipe.  There are certain things that need to be done, many of which should occur in a particular order to save time, money, effort and disappointment. 

Your first inclination may be to start searching the Internet for homes and schedule some showings or possibly visit open houses.  Even though this is very gratifying, it shouldn't be done until you have gone through the preliminaries.

Buying a home for the first-time implies you haven't been through the process before and even though, you may have a rough idea of what needs to be done, selecting the right agent in the beginning will give you the benefit of years of personal and professional experience that can help you avoid some of the common mistakes made when buying a home.

This agent can direct you to find the other team members that are required like the lender, title company, inspectors and others.  Each member of the team has an important role to play that if not done correctly, could cause delays and possibly, jeopardize the transaction.

An important step is getting pre-approved so that you'll know exactly what price mortgage and home you'll qualify for.  This may even allow you to lock-in a mortgage rate before you contract for a home.  The pre-approval could also prove very helpful in negotiating with the seller by removing some of the doubt in their mind regarding an unknown buyer.  Another advantage to pre-approval is that if you are competing with multiple offers, you have the advantage of being more of a known commodity.

You'll need to assemble some documents for the lender including pay stubs from the past two months, W-2's from last year, proof of additional income, tax returns for the past two years, bank statements for the last three months, list of all open credit accounts and balances, copy of driver's license and history of residence for past two years.

Buying a home is one of the most important decisions in your life and it should be done with care and research.  When all the things are done in the right order, finding the "right" home is just like following a recipe.  For more information, download this Buyers Guide that includes great information to help you through the process.