Are you contemplating buying a new home in Centre County? Corman Home Sales & Property Management can help.

Buying a home is a stressful event for many people, but with a little planning ahead of time, it's not too complicated. So you understand exactly what to expect, we like to furnish our buyers with an overview of the entire deal. These are our nine steps to buying a home.

Step 1 – Prepare to purchase
Prior to starting your home search, there are a lot of things you need to do. When you start your search, you'll want to put together a list of features you need to have, get a feeling for what neighborhoods and school districts you'd like to live in, and start planning around your budget. A good guideline to follow is that your mortgage payment should be no more than a third of your net monthly income.

Step 2 – Get in touch with a real estate agent
That's where we can help. We can plan a time to meet so we can talk about your real estate needs and get an idea of your future plans. We'll talk about neighborhoods, schools in the Centre County area, the mortgage and housing industries, and any other economic factors that could affect your purchase today or in the future.

In addition, we'll help you begin the loan process. There are some excellent mortgage professionals in Centre County, and we work with a lot of them, so you can rest assured that you're in great hands. They'll help you determine which type of loan is best for you, as well as help you get approved.

Step 3 – Start your home search
After our first meeting, we'll begin searching for houses on the market that are a good fit for you. We'll get a sneak peek of most of the houses and reject the bad ones, and then we'll book appointments to view the houses whenever it's most convenient for you.

As we tour the houses, We will identify positive features and bad ones.  We will even ask you to point out what things you like and don't like. It's common for buyers to amend their must-have list as we tour homes and some items become more substantial than others. If that's the case, we'll go back through the listings again and trim it down to the home of your dreams.

Step 4 – Get a feel for the housing market
Your agent's understanding of the Centre County housing market is a fundamental element in your home search. And we can assure you we are conscious of all the neighborhoods and schools, and we can let you know what neighborhoods are "hot" and demand immediate action and the others that are "cold" and allow for more consideration.

When we tour houses, we will make sure to communicate when the list price has room for bargaining and also when we think the home is "priced to sell." Any real estate agent will claim to truly understand the housing market, but be on guard, and be sure to ask your agent lots of questions. If it appears they don't know everything, call us at 814-357-2371 or e-mail us at CormanHomeSales@MelissaSieg.com, and we'll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.  Our understanding of the market will help you stay a step ahead through the entire deal.

Step 5 – Find the home of your dreams
We are positive we'll find the home of your dreams in Centre County, and when that happens, we will precisely create your purchase offer. The offer will be written to suit your needs. Whenever necessary, we never forget to make contracts contingent upon items like obtaining financing and the results of the home inspection.

When presenting your purchase offer, you'll want to present "earnest money." This is a cash deposit given to a seller to secure the offer to buy the property. The amount is usually put towards the closing costs. If the seller accepts the offer, we should close on the property within 30 to 60 days after. This allows necessary time for your mortgage financing.

Step 6 – Negotiate
Most deals don't close on the initial offer – it's really common to receive a counter offer. Don't let it intimidate you. We'll figure out whether or not to take the counter offer, propose our own counter offer, or decline the seller's offer and go on.

Market circumstances determine how aggressively we negotiate the deal. We'll also work within your financing constraints. And at the end of the day, we'll formulate a contract that is best for you.

Step 7 – Get your loan
After we sign the final contract, you'll start working with your mortgage lender to close the loan. This won't take much time at all if you're already pre-qualified, but you'll need to stay in close contact with your lender. And we'll deal with all the property information your lender needs to close the loan.

Step 8 – Close the deal
You'll get a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) outlining closing costs from your lender within three days of receiving your loan application. This estimate is based on the loan amount, and RESPA requirements order that it has to contain all closing costs and be within a precise range of accuracy.  We will examine the estimate and let you know if it all looks adequate.

Then it's time to close on your house. This will most likely happen at a title company or escrow office and will most likely be a smooth and relaxed occasion.

Step 9 – Move in
Success! Now you can move into your new home. Enjoy it. And if you need anything, make sure you contact us at 814-357-2371 or send me an e-mail.