Sunday, April 28, 2024

Your guide to buying a first home in Southern California Los Angeles Times

steps to buying a house

Many sellers will refuse this contingency, but it’s still worth trying in most cases. Once you’ve met with your real estate agent to discuss what you’re looking for, it’s time to begin house hunting. It’s highly unlikely any listing will perfectly match your dream home, so try not to be too picky until you see the houses in person. Perhaps even more important is having a real estate expert in your corner can provide some invaluable peace of mind. To obtain a conventional loan, you’ll need a qualifying FICO® Score of 620 or higher.

A Beginner’s Guide to Buying a Home in Los Angeles

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It takes just two minutes to match you with the best real estate agents, who will contact you and guide you through the process. It’s a good idea to develop a step-by-step plan for saving the funds you need. Unless you’re getting a VA or USDA loan, you’ll need at least 3%, if not 3.5%, to put down on your home. A simple down payment calculator can help you get a better idea of how much you should have saved. Twenty percent is often cited as the target amount to put down on a home. This percentage can scare off some would-be homebuyers from even considering purchasing a home.

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Once you’ve studied the home buying checklist, you’re ready to get the ball rolling. The home inspection will ensure the property is up to code and that the foundation and roof are structurally sound. Your home inspector will test systems like plumbing and electrical and provide you with a detailed report with the home inspection results.

Determine How Much You Can Afford

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On your closing date the money has been exchanged and the title is now in your name. A title company or real estate attorney will close the transaction and you will typically get the keys after 5 p.m. Depending on if your house is turnkey ready or not, there might be some maintenance and remodeling you want to complete before moving in.

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In fact, only 46 percent of people who live here own their homes — one of the lowest rates in the country. So, it’s important to carefully consider whether you should rent or buy. Getting pre-approved is the most essential step of buying a home in LA. Any seller will want to see proof that a lender has offered a preliminary thumbs-up  on your mortgage application; some may even want you to have conditional approval.

Recognize that in an ultracompetitive market like LA, some buyers will be paying in cash. Additionally, the likelihood of bidding wars and homes selling for more than the sticker price is high. The following primer can help set up first-time homebuyers in the booming California housing market for success. Stephanie Yaa Annor, 34, started looking for a multifamily home — where she could live while making rental income — in January 2023. She was thrilled when her offer on a remodeled home, with a separate back unit, was accepted the next month. In 2021, they used a combination of their personal savings and a first-time home buyer loan to buy their first property together — a multifamily building that they fixed up and rent out.

steps to buying a house

Your offer should include the offer price, preapproval letter, and proof of funds for the down payment. Development points are a reward you’ll get as your town reaches certain milestones — building five burgage plots, upgrading two of those five to Level 2 burgage plots, and so on. Upgrading burgage plots gives you access to more and better extensions (like backyard workshops — see above), but they also increase the requirements for those plots. For example, you’ll need access to two kinds of food to upgrade a plot from Level 1 to Level 2. We’ve got a whole guide to upgrading your town that walks you through the first few settlement levels. Investing involves market risk, including possible loss of principal, and there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be achieved.

You can use this list to request repairs from the seller before closing. The second step to purchasing your first home is a crucial one, and that is figuring out how much house you can afford. Perhaps most importantly, a real estate professional can help keep you within your budget. Understanding how to make an attractive offer on a home can help increase the chance of it being accepted, putting you one step closer to getting those coveted keys. Buying a new home is a complex undertaking, even if you’ve been through it before.

An appraisal only gives you an estimate of how much your home is worth. An appraiser looks at factors like overall property values in the neighborhood and the general condition of the property. Mortgage lenders require appraisals because they need to know that they aren’t lending you more money than your home is worth. When preparing to buy your first house, you’ll need to submit financial documentation to your mortgage lender, so you should have it on hand.

If your DTI ratio is less than 50%, think about how a monthly mortgage payment would fit into your budget. You'll then want to start attending in person or virtual open houses and home tours. These tours can help you identify the type of home you like, the layout you want, and the features you want or don’t want in your home. When you’re touring multiple homes, it’s easy to confuse the different features or concerns you have about one house with another you’ve seen, so take notes as you’re touring.

A good home inspection will also give you the information you need to make a decision to negotiate repairs for any issues or simply walk away. If trying to keep up with all the different options has your head spinning, start with a mortgage 101 breakdown first. We’ve mentioned conventional and government-backed loans (VA, FHA, USDA), but you’ll also want to consider term lengths and whether you prefer a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate loan. HomeLight-recommended real estate agents are top-tier negotiators who understand the market data that helps you save as much as possible when buying your dream home.

steps to buying a house

If you’re buying a house that’s for sale by owner (FSBO), your agent will negotiate with the seller directly. If your seller rejects your request, it’s up to you to decide how to proceed. If you have an inspection contingency in your offer letter, you can walk away from the sale and keep your earnest money deposit. In conclusion, with declining home prices and stabilizing mortgage rates, now is the best time to buy a house in California. Plan your down payment and closing costs in advance to avoid falling short of cash. Likewise, make timely payments to ensure that your credit score stays high.

If you’re on payroll, you’ll likely need to provide only recent pay stubs and W-2s. If you’re self-employed or receiving passive income like social security or pensions, you’ll need to submit your tax returns and other documents. Buying a house is a different experience than, well, pretty much anything else.

Instead, as the name implies, it’s about wealth instead of just money and that wealth comes from either exporting surplus goods or just from upgrading burgage plots. Think of burgage plots as mixed-used zoning where your town’s families will build houses and workshops. Depending on the size and shape of the burgage plot, there might be room for additional housing (adding a house for a second family to the plot) or an extension (for a garden or a workshop). The couple also found they were eligible for a Federal Housing Administration loan. The loan, which is popular with fellow first-time home buyers, is guaranteed by the FHA and allows buyers to put down as little as 3.5 percent of the purchase price.

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