1. Determine what type of home or property you would like to purchase. Ask yourself what is most important to you and decide your price point.
2. Establish a relationship with a Real Estate agent. Real estate agents represent buyers, sellers, or both, and they can work as neutral facilitators for either party in some states.
3. Start searching for properties with your Real Estate Agent. Schedule property tours and analyze each property.
4. Once you have found your property, its time to make an offer. Work with your Real Estate Agent to come up with a price you would like to offer. Listing price is just the starting point. Your agent will know the market and will advise on fair price. Once you have submitted the offer you wait to hear from the seller. You may have to submit a counteroffer depending on the situation.
5. Schedule an inspection if you decide to include that in your offer. Have a home inspector look over the home to make sure there are no unseen defects you want to negotiate to have fixed
6. Hire an attorney to represent you and advise on contracts. You will work on your attorney to sign a Purchase and Sale agreement. A Purchase and Sale agreement is a document that formalizes the final sale price and specific terms of the sale.
7. Closing day which also can be known as settlement is the specific day the ownership of the property is transferred to you.