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Steps to Buying a House

Guide for Steps to Buying a House

Are there certain steps I should follow when buying a house?

Buying a home is often a long and hard process combined with hours and days filled with researching, meeting with your realtor, and shopping around for homes that meet your economical qualifications and family needs.  Usually, the steps to buying a house include:

• Figuring out how much you can afford

• Knowing your rights

• Shopping for a loan

• Learning about home buying programs

• Shopping for a home

• Making an offer

• Getting a home inspection

• Shopping for homeowners insurance

• Signing Settlement papers

These steps to buying a house are outlined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but your steps may fall in a different order, and you may decide to skip some steps.  Whatever the case, you should still reference the details below in order to ensure your steps to buying a house at least closely reflect steps HUD suggests.  

Figuring out how much you can afford

This step usually includes the following:

• Your level of income and what you were paying in rent before you decided to buy a house

• Your credit rating amongst several different credit agencies

• Your current monthly expenses apart from rent

• The amount you can put towards a down payment

• How much interest your mortgage will accrue over the repayment process 

Knowing Your Rights

This step usually includes the following:

• You cannot be denied an offer based upon your race, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.  You cannot be denied a mortgage upon list above as well.  In order to view this act more thoroughly, visit the Fair Housing Section of HUD.

• You should also know your rights as a borrower and know how to look out for predatory lending that results in loan fraud.

Looking for a loan

This step usually includes the following:

• Looking for the best mortgage by shopping and negotiating

• Searching for an adjustable interest loan or structured loan

Learning About home buying programs

• You should look into FHA loan programs if you are first-time homebuyer

• You should also consider looking into the Good Neighbor Next Door, Hurricane Evacuees discounted sales, Homeownership for public housing residents, and Indian Home Loan Guarantee Programs 

Shopping for  a home

This is often the most complicate process and includes the following:

• Choosing and hiring a real estate agent

• Deciding what features you want and what features you’ll forfeit in order to receive the features you want

• Deciding between a newer home or older home that may be fixed up to increase the value dramatically

• Deciding whether to buy a home or build a home


Making an Offer and getting a home inspection

Once you have made an offer an the owner of the home decides they want to take your offer, they need to undergo a home inspection.  If anything needs to be fixed or renovated within the home, these costs can be negotiated within the offer value. 

Shopping for homeowner’s insurance and signing papers

You can research HUD for ways to lower your homeowner’s insurance costs, but some of these measures include placing proper fire protection technology in your house and installing a burglary alarm.  Once you have searched and found the proper homeowner’s insurance, you should go over everything in the settlement contract with your realtor before signing.  These steps for buying a home are essential and can save you a lot of money and time.  You may choose not to follow all these steps for buying a home, but they steps are there to provide to most amount of help.  

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