|
I.
Introduction
CONGRATULATIONS! You have decided to buy a new home.
This booklet will help you take this big financial step by describing
the home buying, home financing, and settlement process. Lenders and
mortgage brokers are required by federal law, the Real Estate Settlement
Procedures Act ("RESPA"), to give you this booklet. You should receive
it when applying for a loan, or within three business days afterwards.
Real estate brokers frequently hand out this booklet as well.
You
probably started the home buying process in one of two ways: you saw a
home you were interested in buying or you consulted a lender to figure
out how much money you could borrow before you found a home (sometimes
called pre-qualifying). The next step is to sign an agreement of sale
with the seller, followed by applying for a loan to purchase your new
home. The final step is called "settlement" or "closing," where the
legal title to the property is transferred to you.
At each of these steps you often have the opportunity to negotiate the
terms, conditions and costs to your advantage. This booklet will
highlight such opportunities. You will also need to shop carefully to
get the best value for your money. There is no standard home buying
process used in all localities. Your actual experience may vary from
those described here. This booklet takes you through the general steps
to buying a home, to eliminate, as much as possible, the mysteries of
the settlement process.
|
