Home Buying Checklist

What are the steps to buying a house?

Buying a home moves through four stages: prepare your money, find a loan and a home, get the loan approved, and close. The checklist above breaks those stages into 14 steps. Each one below explains what to do and why it matters.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) organizes its homebuyer guide the same way: prepare to shop, explore loan choices, compare offers and get ready to close. Taking the steps in order keeps you from falling in love with a home before you know what you can afford.

How do you prepare before you shop?

Start with your budget, your credit and your cash. These first steps decide how much you can borrow, what it will cost and how strong your offer looks. Doing them early gives you time to fix problems before a lender sees them.

1. Set your budget. Pick a monthly house payment that fits your take-home pay, including taxes, insurance and any mortgage insurance. The home affordability calculator turns income and debts into a price range.
2. Check your credit reports. You can get free reports from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus every week, as the Federal Trade Commission explains. Dispute errors now, because fixes take time.
3. Save for the down payment and closing costs. Your down payment and closing costs are separate amounts. Keep an emergency fund on top of both.
4. Explore loan programs and help. Learn the difference between FHA, conventional, VA and USDA loans, and check your state housing finance agency for down payment assistance.

How do you find a loan and a home?

Get preapproved first, then shop for homes within that number, and compare lenders on real offers. A preapproval tells sellers you can likely get financing, and comparing Loan Estimates is where you save money.

5. Get preapproved. A lender reviews your income, assets and credit and states how much it may lend. You can get preapprovals from more than one lender. See prequalification vs. preapproval.
6. Find an agent and tour homes. Choose a buyer’s agent you trust and agree in writing on how they will be paid. Tour homes priced at your comfortable budget, not your maximum approval.
7. Make an offer. Your offer sets the price, the closing date and contingencies, such as financing and inspection. You usually put down an earnest money deposit, which goes toward your costs at closing.
8. Get a home inspection. An inspector checks the structure and systems. Use what they find to ask for repairs, credits or a lower price, or to walk away if your contract allows it.

How does the loan get approved?

After your offer is accepted, you formally apply, choose a lender, lock your rate and move through appraisal and underwriting. This is where deadlines start to matter, so respond quickly to every request for documents.

9. Compare Loan Estimates and choose a lender. A lender must send a Loan Estimate within three business days of your application. Compare rates, fees and cash to close across lenders.
10. Lock your rate. A rate lock keeps your rate the same until closing if you close on time and your application does not change. The CFPB notes locks often run 30, 45 or 60 days and can be costly to extend.
11. Appraisal and underwriting. The lender orders an appraisal to confirm the home’s value and verifies your income, assets and debts. Do not open new credit or make large unexplained deposits now.
12. Buy homeowners insurance. Lenders require it before closing. Get quotes early, since insurance can affect your monthly payment.

What happens at closing?

You review the final numbers, walk through the home, sign the documents and get the keys. Federal rules give you time to check the final terms before you sign, so use it.

13. Review your Closing Disclosure. Your lender must give it to you at least three business days before closing. Compare it with your Loan Estimate line by line and ask about any changes.
14. Do the final walk-through and close. Check that agreed repairs are done and the home is in the expected condition. Then sign, pay your cash to close by a secure method, and get your keys. See what happens at closing.

Which documents and deadlines matter most?

Two federal disclosures and your purchase contract set most of the timeline. Knowing when each arrives helps you catch problems early.

How should you use this checklist?

Work through it in order, tick each step when it is done, and use the linked tools for the step you are on. Your ticks are saved only in this browser on this device. They are not sent to us or anyone else.

If you get stuck, a HUD-approved housing counselor can help at little or no cost. You can find one by ZIP code. The mortgage terms glossary explains the words you will see along the way, and the closing timeline calculator works out key dates once you have a closing date.

For more detail, read how much house you can afford and how much closing costs are.