Online Home Buying in 4 Simple Steps

Buying a home is probably the most important transaction you'll make in your lifetime. It requires bravery, patience and a little bit of luck. But new online tools make home buying easier and more convenient than ever before, bringing much-needed transparency to a complicated process. Below are the four basic steps to purchasing a home (almost) completely online.

1. Research, Research, Research
This is a crucial first step that a surprising number of home buyers ignore, mainly because they get emotionally attached after seeing a house they "just have to have". Our recommendation: Don't even look at houses when starting your home buying research. First, figure out how much house you'll need.

Start by considering your lifestyle. Do you entertain a lot? Will you need significant space for your hobbies, like a painting studio or a woodshop? Do you have a stable of cars, motorcycles or other recreational vehicles? Do you prefer the country life, or are you a city dweller at heart?

Now estimate your future needs. Kids and a family are an obvious example, but in-laws or other family members who might wind up living with you now or in the future are another. Pets, storage and personal preferences will round things out, such as whether you need a hot tub right away or if it's something you can add on later. Sit down and ask yourself questions like these until you figure out where you'll be happiest, how large a house you need and what kind of amenities should come with it.

Large real estate websites often feature virtual tours and video walkthroughs of available homes. These tools can help you narrow your options and feel more prepared when it's time to actually visit open houses or schedule viewings. At this point, you should also find a trusted local real estate agent who can help you set up appointments and provide more specific information about the local market.

2. Get Preapproved
After doing some research, you'll see the general price range for the type of home you want in your desired area. This is when you'll want to see what you can actually afford. Basic online mortgage calculators can help you get an approximate idea of how much home you can afford, but if you want to make a strong offer, you need a preapproval.

Fortunately, getting preapproved online is simple and fast. Quicken Loans, the nation's largest online lender, recently released Rocket Mortgage, a new online service that gives users the ability to get preapproved in minutes from their mobile device. Because Rocket Mortgage is completely online, you could actually get your preapproval letter while you're attending an open house. And if that house is "the one," you can put in an offer before anyone else.

After negotiating your offer, you can continue to use Rocket Mortgage to get a full mortgage approval and manage the majority of your closing process online.

3. Finalize Your Mortgage
As discussed above, you need a preapproval letter to negotiate a good offer, but you won't be able to purchase a home without a full mortgage approval. Traditionally, the mortgage approval process has been a labor-intensive and complicated affair that involves lots of time and paperwork.

Here again, Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans offers a unique advantage. With Rocket Mortgage, you can easily share your financial information online, which cuts down on paperwork and delivers a super accurate mortgage solution. This speeds up your mortgage approval significantly. If an inspection or appraisal changes the terms of your offer, you can easily use Rocket Mortgage to adjust your mortgage solution to reflect your financial situation.

Depending on your technical savvy, getting a full mortgage approval online may seem overwhelming. Fortunately, Quicken Loans also offers easy access to experts online by phone or chat.

4. Close the Deal and Live Happily Ever After…
…or at least until your next refinance. While Rocket Mortgage can help you get approved completely online, you'll still need to close your home loan in person (for now at least). Managing your closing online could be a very real possibility in the future. The balance of power is dramatically shifting away from traditional financial institutions toward consumers, and companies like Quicken Loans embrace this change. After all, it's your home, shouldn't you have control over buying it?

The Internet has touched every aspect of the home buying process, leaving clients with nothing but good outcomes. Sure, you can still purchase a home without ever touching the web, but you'll rob yourself of valuable insight and opportunities if you do.