Brought to you by our friend Shashank Shekhar:

Step 1 – Getting Pre-Approved Prior to Shopping for a Home

It’s important to know how much home you can afford, what type of down payment to budget for, monthly mortgage payment as well as what type of loan program you’ll use to finance the new property.

A personal consultation with a trusted mortgage professional should address all your initial loan approval questions, as well as uncover any potential challenges that can complicate the entire transaction.Certain mortgage loans have residence type, HOA, appraisal or insurance restrictions that your agent needs to be aware of before showing you listings.

Step 2 – Assembling Your Home Buying Team – Knowing the Players

The home buying process has multiple steps, participating parties and potential challenges that can be overcome with the right team on your side.

Your agent, appraiser, title company, home inspector, insurance agent and lender all have important roles to play. Buying a new home is literally a team sport since there are so many tasks, important timelines, documents and responsibilities that need attention.

Besides working with a professional team that you trust, it’s also important that the individual players have the ability to effectively communicate and execute on important decisions together.

Step 3 – Purchase Offer Submitted

Assuming that you’ve already received a mortgage pre-approval and have a good understanding of the type of property you are qualified to purchase, your agent will submit your purchase offer to a listing agent or seller.

Once you receive an accepted offer, the due-diligence period starts a series of timelines for final mortgage approval, appraisal, inspections and other requirements which would be stated in the terms of the contract.

Step 4 – Conditions and Paperwork

It comes in from all angles at this point – lenders, processors, insurance agents, sellers, real estate agents and you.

Step 5 – Closing

A successful closing requires all of the team players to come together at the same time, with the same agenda, on the same date…. with numbers and figures that match. Once a transaction has closed successfully, you are the proud owner of your new home.

Written by: Shashank Shekhar (NMLS ID 8176) is widely regarded as “San Francisco Bay Area’s #1 Mortgage Expert.” Shashank is the author of widely acclaimed books – “First Time Home Buying 101” and “Real Estate Unleashed” and highly rated mortgage blog http://www.LendingExpertBlog.com. He has been featured on Yahoo! News, Pen TV, KCBS Radio, SF Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle. He was recently ranked among top 25 most connected and “Top 40 Under 40? most influential mortgage professionals in the country by National Mortgage Professional Magazine. He is currently the CEO of Arcus Lending – a mortgage lender based in San Jose, CA serving the entire state of California.

Shashank can be contacted via phone at 408.615.0655 or via email at Shashank@ArcusLending.com.

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