First Time Buyer's Guide for Minnesota Real Estate

The Minnesota Association of Realtors published this online Guide for First Time Buyers interested in learning how the real estate process works.

There's some good info there. Also...

Here's a quick look at the steps you'll take when buying your first home with Me:

1. Go to one of my Free Home Seminars to get valuable home buying tips, information on the current housing market and financial advice.

2. Figure out how much home you can afford. You can do this by using my Finance Center Tools.

3. Conduct a preliminary search with Edina Realty's Property Finder. You may even want to save some of your searches and schedule home showings online.

4. Apply Online for a free pre-approval. Or contact a Mortgage Consultant and get your mortgage pre-approved. I have several that I can recommend to you.

5. Contact Me to look for a house that meets your needs. I can set up Auto-Searches so you will be e-mailed listings that meet your criteria as soon as they come on the market.

6. Once you find a home that you want to make an offer on, you'll sign a purchase agreement and give the seller earnest money to seal the deal. If your offer is accepted (sometimes with contingencies), determine a date you wish to close.

7. Have your new home inspected to ensure there's nothing seriously wrong with the property and get homeowner’s insurance to protect yourself against any unforeseen calamity. You may also want to check for mold in the home...learn more from the MN Dept. of Health.

8. Notify your mortgage consultant that you've found a property so they can begin the appraisal and title process. And, lock in your interest rate. Your mortgage consultant will send you a new good faith estimate which shows your monthly mortgage payment as well as your estimated cash needed for closing. Edina Realty Title will notify you of the time and date you close on your home and the items you'll need to bring to closing.

9. Notify your phone company, utilities (don't forget water and sewer), moving company, post office, newspaper and magazines, friends and family (see our moving checklist) and change your mailing address. Use our Home Connections service to help make connections to your new home.

10. Pack and move!