There are currently 4,258 active listings in the city of Scottsdale MLS alone, and the prices range from $29,000.00 for a one bedroom Condo, all the way to $15,000,000.00 for a 14,231 sq-ft, 8 bedroom, 11 bath Luxury Estate. The first thing you need to do, before you even think about looking, is find a Realtor. I could fill this entire article with nothing but reasons why you should work with a Realtor, when buying Scottsdale AZ homes, and I would still not cover all the reasons.

There are a few myths about using a Realtor, when buying a Scottsdale home, or any property, that I would like to clear up. First, in most cases there is no fee paid by a buyer, when buying a Scottsdale home. The fee, or commission, is paid by the seller of the property. Second, a Realtor who knows what they are doing, will always be able to negotiate a better deal on the property than you could by yourself, and there is really no money to be saved by trying to buy a Scottsdale home without using a Realtor. Third, there are some who think there is no difference between getting a Realtor to work with, and just calling the sign on the property, and using that Realtor to purchase the property. The person on the sign represents the seller of the property, and while you can call them, and work with them, I believe that you will still get the best deal by working with a Realtor that represents only you.

(1) Now that you have a Realtor that you can work with, the next step on how to buy a Scottsdale home, is to get a lender to pre-qualify you for the loan, assuming that you are not going to be purchasing the house with cash. If you are going to be paying cash for the property, then you can skip the lender step, and start working with your Realtor on locating your ideal property. If you do need a loan, getting pre-qualified with a lender will not only save you a lot of time, it will be required by the seller in most cases before you purchase contract will be accepted.

(2) The Realtor you are working with will already have a good working relationship with several different lenders. I advise to talk with a few different lenders the Realtor provides you, to find out who will get you the best rate and terms. The lender will require some pretty standard items, like 1) Last two years income tax returns. 2) 24 months work history, including paystubs if you have them. 3)Credit report, If you have a copy of your credit report they can start with that, however, they will need to get a fresh credit report for the file, once you have made a choice of lenders. When you have supplied the lender with everything that is required, and the lender does his job of getting you the best terms and rate for your loan, you will receive what is called an LSR,(Loan Status Report), and that along with your contract, will be needed to start the purchase of buying a Scottsdale home.

(3) Once you have your Realtor, and the lender has supplied you with an LSR, the LSR will state the amount of loan that you qualify for, then you and your Realtor can discuss particulars of what kind of property you want, and where you would like it to be. Your Realtor will be able to start sending you properties in your price range in the areas you want to live, to your email, and then you can decide what homes you would like to see. Now that you have narrowed the list of homes to 3 or 4, that you would like to see,(more than 4 in a day, and they will start blending together, and you will be wasting your time, your Realtor can schedule appointments to see the properties.

(4) Now that you have decided on a property that you would like to make an offer on, your Realtor will provide you with all the comparable properties that have sold in the area. Your Realtor will go over all the comparable properties and compare each to the home you like. Now your Realtor should point out all the pros and cons of the property you like, you should look at the property as if you were getting ready to sell it.

(5) Now you should be ready to make an offer on the property. I want to stress a Very Important Fact, you always make money in real estate when you buy a property, not when you sell it. When you sell a property you are only getting the proceeds of the sale. When you buy a property you need to make sure that you are getting the best property, for the least amount of money, in the best area, with the best rate and terms, for the loan you will have. This is just one of the reasons you need a great Realtor to work with. Your Realtor should be pointing out to you the condition of the property, what might be a repair, or replacement cost in the future, and many more things that should be considered before making an offer.

(6) So you are now ready to make an offer on the property. Once you have made an offer that you feel is the best offer that you want to make on the property, you will have to wait until the seller has had a chance to review it. The seller has a few options, 1) they can accept it just as it is. 2) They can provide your Realtor with a counter offer. 3) They can reject your offer completely. If they accept your offer than you move on to the next step. If they provide your Realtor with a counter offer, then the negotiations begin. If they reject your offer, your Realtor should find out if there is anything that can be done to make it work, and if not, then you simply move on to finding another property.

(7) Your offer has been accepted. Now you can open escrow with the title company that you and your Realtor decided on when you created the offer. Once you have open escrow, you need to schedule an inspection of the property, and your Realtor will also supply your lender with a copy of the purchase contract. Once you have completed your inspection you have a few choices. 1) You can accept the property as is. 2) you can request that the seller make repairs. 3) You can decide that you no longer want to purchase the property, and cancel the contract.

(8) Ok, let work on the aspect that you have decided to take that home as is, and you are ready to continue along the process of buying a Scottsdale home. Now you can tell the lender to make sure the appraisal is order for the property. You also need to make sure that all the necessary paperwork that the lender has asked you for, that you have supplied. Once you have all your paperwork given to the lender, and the appraisal has been done, then the lender will submit everything to loan underwriting. The underwriting process can take a day or two, in most cases, and can take up to a week.

(9) Now you are ready for loan documents to be delivered to title. Once the title company has your loan docs, you can go in and sign. It is a good idea to have your Realtor attend your signing, just in-case you have some questions about what you are signing. Your Realtor has been with you since the beginning of the process and you should have a great working relationship by now, and you will trust their answers more that the title person.

(10) Ok, you are almost done, and ready to move in. Before you move in there are some last minute details that need to be taken care of. 1) You need to do a final walk through of the home to ensure that everything is as it should be. 2) You need to schedule that all the utilities are turned on in your name, water, electricity, gas, cable, phone, etc. 3) You need to decide if you are moving yourself, or if you are having a mover handle all the details, and make appropriate arrangements.

(11) Congratulations, you are ready to take ownership of your new home. The title company will have recorded the deed in your name, and you will receive the keys to your home. Now you can move in and enjoy many wonderful years in your new home. Now your Realtor should be in contact with you on a consistent basis, at least if you were my client, we would stay in contact. I would be wanting to provide the same level of service to all your friends and family members, and to you again when you decide to move to a different home.