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.
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