before you find the right agent to work with you, and even if it takes you longer than you’d hoped or expected to find “the one” home that meets your criteria as well as your budget. These three steps will help you ensure that those nasty horror stories don’t happen to you and don’t scare you away from continuing with your dream of homeownership. If you are prepared and aware, then you don’t have to worry. 1. Hire a reputable, qualified, and experienced professional real estate agent to work alongside you throughout the whole process. I will repeat this until the point is driven home! Doing this will save you so much time, energy, frustration, and potential complications. And, even with the commission free, a good agent is still well worth it, and will likely even save you money. Refer back to Chapter 2 for a refresher. 2. Have your home inspected properly. You can’t rely on the seller’s inspection report alone, or whatever the seller tells you about the property. You never know if something is being swept under the rug, or if there is something majorly wrong with the home. Check the property’s condition — all areas — yourself by hiring a qualified home inspector. 3. Feel confident about the purchase. If you are unsure about moving forward with the purchase, or if something isn’t “right” in your gut or is nagging at you, during any step of the process, consider taking a breather, a step back, and really think about whether you are making the right decision. You want no regrets, so make sure you won’t have any. Now let’s move on to the home-buying process! First, we’ll take a look at the 12 steps to buying a home, which applies to both first- time buyers and veterans.
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