Well, the first thing to do is start looking on line at the market and what is available. Nobody knows your style better than you do, so start looking at homes on line to get a feel for what is available.
Find a real estate listings site that has neighborhood pages. This will give you a feel for the neighborhood, what the features and benefits of each neighborhood? What sites are good for that – well mine of course! www.RealEstateInABQ.com has been around for 18 years and is still a staple for a lot of people looking on line for homes. I have the site broken down to Albuquerque neighborhoods as well as zip codes and also a great map search so that you can see a bird’s eye view of the entire area. This search site does not require a registration to view the homes, so it’s easy as pie.
Once you are comfortable with what is on the market – what next?
Reach out and contact a REALTOR to help you with the next part of the process. Of course we would love it, here at the Linda DeVlieg Real Estate team, to call us! We specialize in finding buyers the perfect home in Albuquerque and have years of experience to help you unlock your dreams!
A good REALTOR will help you with the next, probably most important, step – getting you prequalified for your home loan. Why is this so important up front? You have to do it now? Yes! Why?
Let’s say you find your perfect home the first day out looking at houses?! It can happen! Truth is, you cannot and should not, try to write an offer to a seller without having a letter in hand, telling them you can buy it! Why? Because our contracts say so. If you don’t have that letter the contract will terminate within a few hours or days after you have negotiated your contract. Sometimes there is no telling how long the process of prequalifying might take – not as easy as it used to be…takes more than just a credit report and a good employment history. Find a good lender and get that letter ready.
There are a lot of different loans you might fit into – FHA, VA, Conventional, teacher loans, doctor loans…there are so many products! Find the right one for you – and go shopping in confidence. A good loan officer will go over your options and get you into a loan that is just right for you.
So – first step – search! Second step – pick a REALTOR! Third step – Call a mortgage person (we have some great referrals for that)!
After that…the real fun starts! More on that later!
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