Arrowhead Title, Inc.

When you think of buying a house at the Lake of the Ozarks , what comes to mind? If you're like most people, you think of touring various properties for sale while searching for your dream home. While this is certainly an exciting process, it's only the tip of the iceberg. Once you settle on your perfect home and decide to submit an offer, there are still several steps that must be executed before the home can be declared legally yours. Arrowhead Title, Inc. is here to help you get a better understanding of the process. Earnest Money When you submit an offer to purchase a home, you must also include a check for earnest money. This check shows that you are serious about buying the property; the more money the buyer provides, the more serious he/she seems. Generally, earnest money amount ranges from about 1-3% of the asking price.  Loan Application If you haven't already, now is the time to begin applying for a mortgage loan. A lender will evaluate multiple finan...

Last week, we talked about the first four steps to take when buying a home . You can view in-depth descriptions of each of these steps on our blog from last week, but here's a quick summary of what we talked about: Step 1: Start Your Research Step 2: Get Prequalified or Preapproved Step 3: Hire A Real Estate Agent Step 4: Tour Homes Taking these steps will build the foundation for a fun and successful home search at the Lake of the Ozarks . Once you've completed these four steps, it's time to get started on the remaining five. Step 5: Make An Offer Once you have found a home you love, it's time to make an offer on it. There are no rules governing the type of offer you can make - you can offer full asking price, or you can offer a few thousand dollars less. Your real estate agent can help you strategize on what would be a good offer and what (if any) additional items to include in your offer (such as furniture pieces that may have been left in the home)....

Buying a home is such an exciting experience. It's a chance to start fresh, a chance to create a whole new life for yourself in a brand new environment. Buying a home at the Lake of the Ozarks can seem a little overwhelming, especially if it's your first time, but it doesn't have to be hard. Welcome to  the first installment in our two-part blog series: Steps To Buying A Home.  Following these simple steps will ensure that your home buying process is simple and (most importantly) enjoyable. Step 1: Start Your Research Being well-educated on any topic makes it much easier to manage, and buying a home is no different. Before you are ready to begin seriously searching for homes, take some time to start looking at the homes currently for sale. This way, you can get a feel for their asking prices and watch to see if any of the homes drop in price, which will give you insight the current housing market. It's also important to start thinking about the types of feat...