Buying a Home

The process of selecting the ideal home can be as challenging as it is exciting. But your efforts will certainly pay off in the years ahead as the home adds comfort, style and enrichment to your life. You can count on Waterfield to help you select the best loan program for your situation -- one that suits both your budget and lifestyle.
The first step in purchasing a home is often research. If you are new to the area, the research becomes more involved as you investigate different parts of a city. Things to consider when house shopping are school systems, market stability, proximity to amenities (shopping centers, hospitals, etc.), and municipal services. Once you've narrowed down the search, you can start looking at specific houses.

If you are familiar with the city in which you are purchasing, you probably know in what areas you would like to live. Research would involve looking through the real estate section of the newspaper, talking to realtors, and other methods of determining what homes are on the market that fits your needs.

To make house hunting easier it's often helpful to get prequalified for a loan. The prequalification process is relatively simple. One of Waterfield's Loan Officers would be more than happy to assist you. Prequalification basically consists of determining what loan amount fits within your budget. This can useful when talking with realtors, because it allows them to know what price ranges will work best for you.

Once you find a house that meets your needs and budget, it's time to make an offer to purchase. Your realtor will usually assist you in the process of making an offer the seller will accept.

Depending on whether you have been prequalified and also depending on the type of loan, different activities are initiated by our loan processors. These may include (but are not limited to) having the house appraised, getting termite inspections, surveying the property, and performing a title search.

Finally it's time to close your new loan. Loan closing is basically a short meeting in which the seller conveys the property to the purchaser and the purchaser signs the mortgage (or deed of trust - depending on the state law), the note, and other assorted loan documents. Often loan closings take place at the offices of a title insurance company, who helps prepare the paper work and insures the closing goes quickly and smoothly.