How to Buy a Home & Where to Start

Even if this is not your first time buying a home, understanding the process and having your most common questions answered will help you make a more informed decision on the house and the loan that’s right for you.

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You Can Call Me Anytime:

Mobile: (949) 600-0944

Office: (949) 855-0760

Why Jackie Barikhan at Right Choice Mortgage?

Jackie is a California-based, award-winning mortgage professional with over 100 5-star ratings. Committed to excellent strategies and out-of-the-box thinking. Mortgage lending is all I do, all day, every day! I’m here to help you in every way!

Call today for a FREE consultation – (949) 600-0944 or book a time to chat HERE

What’s the First Thing I Should Do if I Want to Buy a House?

Get pre-approved for a mortgage.

Even before you start looking at homes, it’s important to know how much you can afford in a mortgage payment each month. Knowing this number will help narrow down your search to homes you KNOW you can afford.

If you make an offer on a home without being fully pre-approved, your offer will most likely be instantly rejected. Worse yet, if the offer is accepted and you find out 2 weeks into the process you actually can’t afford the home, it means frustration for both you AND the seller.

Ready to get started? Call My Lender Jackie (949) 600-0944

How Much Does it Cost to Buy a Home?

There it is… the million dollar question. Sure, you know that buying a house obviously costs however much the home is listed for, but what other costs or fees are involved?

Let’s break this down:

Cost of the Home (Asking Price or Accepted Offer Price)

Initial Earnest Money – Typically 1%-3% of the purchase price

Inspection Costs – $200-$800

Closing Costs – $3000 – $10,000 (All depending on the cost of the home, taxes, insurance and other fees – a full breakdown is always available and may even be rounded into the loan)

Buyer’s Agent Fees – ZERO! Yep! You pay absolutely NOTHING to use a buyer’s agent to help you with the transaction. That’s because an agent representing the buyer gets paid a commission from the sale of the property, NOT directly from you.

Additional and Miscellaneous Fees

Call My Lender Jackie (949) 600-0944

What Kind of Credit Score Do I Need to Qualify?

I’ll be straight with you – a credit score of 580 – 800 is recommended, but that doesn’t mean if you have lower than a 580 you absolutely cannot qualify. 620 is the recommended lowest but there are amazing programs and options for distressed borrowers, those that have bankruptcy and foreclosures on their record and those just trying to improve their record.

However, the higher the score, the better the terms and rate you’re going to get so it really pays to raise that score as high as you can before applying.

BUT! You never know!! Start by calling me first and finding out the right direction to go. I have great strategies and plans to increase your credit score fast and get you the best loan possible.

Call My Lender Jackie (949) 600-0944

When Do I Get the Keys?

Handing a new home buyer those house keys is probably the most satisfying part of the real estate process (other than the call stating you are approved!)

While you are free to view the house as often as you want so long as the seller is okay with it, you can’t fully call the home yours until some final proceedings are completed.

Toward the end of the transaction after the inspection and approval, your escrow or lender will call for final signing. You’ll sit down with the team and sign all the final documents. Bring your writing hand because you’ll be initialing and signing a lot of paperwork.

ASK questions if you don’t understand anything. All parties involved want you to be well-informed and there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Once buyer and seller have signed, the documents are dispersed by the escrow department, funds are deposited, and the deed is recorded with the county. Once all these things are done (which could take 1-3 days after signing) only then will you be handed the keys.

Check with the offer. Some offers state that sellers have 3 days to vacate after closing so just because you’ve signed and recorded the contract will state when the buyer can have occupancy.

WELCOME HOME!

Call My Lender Jackie (949) 600-0944

About Jackie

Mortgage Broker with Right Choice Mortgage

Cell: (949) 600-0944 Office: (949) 855-0760 NMLS: 914312 BRE: 01962240

Mortgage financing can be complicated. My expert team will make sure everything is transparent and painless as possible, so you can move into your new home, or get the cash out you need with minimal stress. I LOVE what I do! There is no greater privilege than to help families secure their future home or help make a dramatic impact on a family’s budget by helping them save on their mortgage payment.

Check Out My Reviews

I am thoroughly impressed and grateful to have worked with Jackie and her team at Right Choice Mortgage! I really admire the can-do, positive attitude that Jackie had throughout this year-long process of us searching for a house, and when we finally found it, the very long escrow process. She answered all of our questions, helped us stayed on top of our finances and documents, and send us helpful reports so that we can make the right choice in choosing our home. Jackie has a wealth of knowledge (and patience!) that was invaluable in analyzing properties and loan products that best fit our needs. We went through so many scenarios of different properties and financing options and qualifying criteria, etc., our file was probably the largest anyone has ever seen but Jackie was able to sort through it all and finally get us to close on our loan. Daniel and I are eternally grateful to Jackie for helping us start our real estate investing careers! It is truly a dream come true 🙂

Wei Cho