Legal Update: Buying Your First Home?

Four (4) Important Steps:

(1) Real Estate Agent. Retain a competent real estate agent who will be loyal to you as a homebuyer.

This is the professional you will be working most closely with in your homebuying process.

(2) Mortgage Broker or Lender. Not all mortgage brokers or lenders are the same. Some are good, and others are horrible.

A competent mortgage broker's role is to shop around to find you the very best loan and lender to suit your needs.

(3) Appraiser. Prior to getting approval for your home loan, the lender (bank, etc.) will hire an appraiser to look at your proposed home and assess its value to see if the home is worth the money.

Since the basic home appraisals are generally affordable, I recommend the homeowners engage in their own due diligence by hiring their appraiser to make sure they are getting the home value they want.

(4) Attorney. Prior to signing any legal documents in purchase of a home, hire an attorney competent in reviewing home purchase real estate documents for legal advice.

As with appraisers, this process should be affordable.

[Sources: "Legal Consumer Tips and Secrets", by Charles Jerome Ware (2011); "Understanding the Law", by Charles Jerome Ware (2008); realestate.msn.com/a-whos-who-guide-to-buying-your-first-home, 5/25/2012]