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How to Become a Homeowner

Marketing Intern • Nov 10, 2021

Cheney Enterprise's Real Estate Advice

   We all know, especially with our current market, that becoming a homeowner is a long and stressful process. However, with the right education buying a home is something anyone can do. Here at C21 Cheney Enterprises we want to help you from start to finish in the home buying process. After reading this article and learning everything you need to know about becoming a homeowner, we encourage you to get in touch with one of our many professional and skilled agents.

   Step One: Do Your Research

The best way to start your home search is by finding the median price of homes in the area you are looking to live in. This will give you an idea of how much the home you want might cost. Your credit score and current budget will have an effect on what house you can afford, so you should compile a list of all of your monthly expenses. It is important to understand your financial situation when you start working with a lender, because this will affect what home loans you qualify for. Now that you're familiar with your financial standing and an idea of what kind of home you might be able to afford you can move onto the pre-qualification process.

    Step Two: Get Prequalified

Getting prequalified means that a lender has approved you for a certain loan amount based on your current financial standing. This ensures that you get a loan you can afford. To find your loan amount a loan officer will ask you about your credit score, job, income, monthly bills, assets, debts, and how much you have for a down payment. Shop around, talk to multiple lenders to make sure you're getting the best deal, and compare interest rates and types of mortgages. After you're prequalified you can move onto finding the home of your dreams.

   Step Three: Finding Your New Home

Finding your new home can be tough without an agent. Thankfully, C21 Cheney Enterprises has several hardworking and professional agents to guide you. Before you start your home search with one of our agents, you should know what characteristics you want the house to have. What are your top priorities or dealbreakers? How many bedrooms and baths? Do you want something modern or more traditional? Does a fixer upper appeal to you or do you want something move in ready? Don't be afraid to be picky, buying a home is a huge investment and with the help of our agents you can find a home that has everything you want. While searching for your home its important to have your lender and agent acquainted, so they can communicate the loan process and buying deadlines.

    Step Four: Make Your Offer

Now that you've found the right home it's time to make an offer on it. Decide how much to offer the seller based on your budget and what you're willing to spend. You should consider how long it's been on the market, how much nearby similar properties sold for, any repairs/renovations, and if theres multiple offers on the house. Depending on how popular the property is there could be a bidding war. You have the best shot at winning by discussing with your agent what price other buyers are offering. Don't let your pre-approved mortgage decide what you offer, make sure you can live comfortably with the amount and leave room for negotiations. Work with our agents to find a successful offer amount. A contingency is an escape clause in a sales contract, kind of like a security deposit. It allows you to walk away with your earnest money incase you need to leave the sale. Contingencies are important because they include the home inspection, appraisal, financing, and title. How do you decide how much earnest money to offer? The amount of earnest money required is usually 1%-2% of the total home price. The earnest money will be applied to your down payment. The more money you offer makes you look better in the eyes of the seller. The ability to come up with this cash signals to the seller that you're serious and ready to buy.  Later, you'll write up an offer letter with your agent and negotiate price and terms of sale. After the seller accepts your offer be sure to get a professional home inspection.

   Step Six: Loan/Final Approval

You can apply for a loan now that you're ready to purchase your new home. The lender will need copies of your tax returns, W-2, 1099s, bank statements, retirement account statements, brokerage statements, and monthly debt payments. They will also need rent payment records, divorce records, and bankruptcy/foreclosure records. After that, your new home will be appraised, the title/tax certificate will be ordered, and the title company will get closing documents.

    Final Step: Closing

We are now at the last and best step of the home buying process. Thanks to yours and your agents hard work you're now ready to close on your new home! A day or two before closing you should do a final walkthrough of your home. Make sure everything is in good condition according to your sales contract. On closing day bring your ID and funds for the title company. Once the funds go through you'll get your keys. Time to move in and celebrate your new home!


   Now that you have the right knowledge and tools its time to go out and find the perfect home for you. Call us at 559-875-7521 to get in touch with one of our experienced and hardworking real estate agents. We've been serving Fresno county's real estate needs for over 40 years and we do it with pride.

Contact us for More Information

1700 Jensen Ave #102, Sanger, CA 93657

Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

559-875-7251

Mortgage Expert offers tips to buyers navigating Valley's hot housing market

By By Jason Oliveira • 02 Nov, 2021
Real estate these days continues to be a seller's market with bidding wars and homes going for well over the asking price. While the market continues to be white-hot, there are a number of tips for those looking to purchase a new home.

Housing Watch: Making sure you are pre-qualified

By By Dale Yurong • 27 Oct, 2021
"I don't show homes to anybody who's not pre-qualified," he said. "That's the number-one thing you have to do. You do not want to be viewing homes, get excited on a home, then not be able to qualify." Loan officer Paul Salazar at Sierra Pacific Mortgage says he has clients who pre-qualified seven months ago but still haven't been able to close on a home because they refuse to over-bid on properties. Buyers often need a little bit more than what the seller is asking because other people are putting in higher bids. "But I have found that because this market is a little hot right now, that people say, 'Can I qualify for a little bit more?' In some cases yes, which means I'll tell you that you need to pay off some debt in order to qualify," Salazar said. Salazar adds first-time buyers need a credit score of at least 620 to get an FHA loan. Realtor Caitlin Sawatsky says some buyers have been making offers on several homes at the same time. "We heard that people who were offering on our listings also had offers out on other properties because it's just hard to get something accepted, and you don't want to lose out on something that's great for something that was perfect," she said. Experts say buyer interest remains high because of low interest rates. Right now, we have 524 active listings in the Fresno/Clovis area. The number is slowly rising. More than 1,100 homes are in escrow.

Housing market booming in Fresno County

By By Amanda Venegas ABC 30 • 27 Oct, 2021
"This time around, the house we just bought was on the market for three days. It had eight offers all over listing price, so it's very competitive," said Kimberly Duke, a local buyer. The Duke family is from Fresno. They say it's a much different experience buying a home in 2021 than they did years ago. They actually made a decision to jump right into their next home because of the market. They plan to sell down later after moving. "It can be a lot. That's why we decided to purchase our home first and sell afterward. There's a lot of people out there buying houses, and it can be very competitive," said Andrew Duke. Action News spoke with realtor Don Scordino. He's worked in the market for four decades and says this is unlike anything he's ever seen. "It's a buyer's market and a seller's market. Somebody might say, why is it a buyer's market when there's so much competition? It's because once you land into a home, you've got that really low 30-year fixed interest rate," Scordino said. He says most houses are going within the first three to four days of listing and receiving multiple offers. If priced and presented well, they're going over listing price, creating issues for appraisals. Scordino says cash means a lot right now. So, where are buyers coming from? "This is going to surprise people. Most everyone thinks they're all coming from the Bay Area. Most of the buyers are from the local area, and they're making move-ups. It's a move-up market right now," Scordino said. Inventory is low and creating competition. In Fresno County, there are 1,500 listings, and 1,100 are in escrow. The median price of a home in Fresno County is $310,000. Scordino says the pandemic has made many appreciate the value of a home and space. With low-interest rates creating affordability, they don't see this market-changing anytime soon. Link to Original Article: https://abc30.com/fresno-county-housing-market-houses-for-sale-is-it-a-buyers-interest-rates/10364645/

New Listing Luxury Home with Pool

By Website Editor • 12 Mar, 2019
A home like this comes on the market once in a decade. It’s spacious, fully renovated and designed to the highest standards.

Pace of prices is cooling down

By Website Editor • 12 Mar, 2019
It’s been a rough ride for homebuyers lately, as prices have hit the roof with little respite. All of that looks to change soon.
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