Homebuying Process
Buying Your Home
Home Ownership Made Easy is more than just a slogan to the Princeton Classic Homes family of employees. We realize purchasing a new home can be a confusing process, especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer. We strive to make the purchase of your new home as smooth and worry-free as possible. Use these resources below or contact us if you have any questions.
Homebuying Tips
The purchase of a home is an important one. A home is where you will live and make the memories of your life. It is important to take your time, plan, and organize your finances. The purchase of a new home is exciting and should be a fun experience.
Contact a preferred lender and get a Good Faith Estimate. Determine how much you can afford towards a mortgage loan each month.
Figure out where you want to live and research the area. Consider factors such as schools, churches, shopping, dining, hospitals, and proximity to work.
Prioritize what features of your new home are most important to you.
Many things can affect the time it takes to build your new home, such as weather and availability of labor and supplies. Purchasing an inventory home eliminates much of the variability in the homebuilding process and allows you to lock in to current interest rates.
The home you love today and think about tonight may be purchased today by the family who loved it yesterday and thought about it last night.
Don’t make any large purchases or take out any additional loans. Doing so may change your ability to qualify for the loan reflected in the Good Faith Estimate.
Create a timeline to avoid closing too early or too late. Plan when to pack, obtain your homeowner’s insurance, and set up utilities, cable, phone, etc.
Purchasing a new home is an exciting experience. Have fun with it!
Congratulations on the purchase of your new home. Princeton Homes is dedicated to building homes of exceptional quality and providing customers with unparalleled service. We take this commitment seriously.
At a glance, the process of purchasing a home may seem a bit overwhelming. We understand how much time, money and research you spend making decisions to personalize your home. Our goal is to partner with you every step of the way to ensure your overall comfort and satisfaction with your decisions.
The following guide provides an outline of the important steps that take place from the moment you sign your contract to the delivery of the keys to your new home. We look forward to guiding you through each step, answering your questions and diligently working with you until we are able to deliver your beautiful new home.
Your involvement throughout the entire process is integral to our ability to deliver your home to your satisfaction and we request that you follow the timelines enclosed.
Now, let us show you how our “Contract to Keys” commitment makes your choice in purchasing a Princeton Home a thoroughly rewarding experience from start to finish.
Our best to you and your family,
Tanya Rizzo
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
The Purchasing Process
#1 - Shop Our Website
If you don’t know where to begin, check out our website at legendhomestexas.com and our social media channels (we’re on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and more) to learn more about what we do and what we offer.
On our website, you’ll find more specific information about our current and soon-to-debut communities, as well as floorplan info and other key details. You’ll find that we offer dozens of floorplans to suit any need. Want a four-bedroom home with an office? Just search for it.
Need more tools? We’re constantly refreshing and compiling other valuable resources and tips for shoppers, including regularly adding to our blog and building important resources for your search, such as guides covering Homebuying Tips and energy efficiency.
#2 - Contact an Online New Home Advisor
Legend Homes employs a dedicated team of Online Sales Professionals who are uniquely qualified to answer your questions and help you find a home in the right community. They can also provide loan officer information for financing questions and advice on new or upcoming communities.
You can get in touch with this team at any point during your shopping experience by emailing onlinesales@legendhomecorp.com or messaging them using our LiveChat feature found in the right-hand corner of your browser. Once you’ve identified some of your most important must-haves, they’ll help you find communities and homes that match these needs.
#3 - Meet with the Onsite Sales Professional
If you’d like to see any of our available homes or models in person, we recommend meet with one of our onsite team members to take a private tour.
Don’t worry about finding the right person—our Online Sales Professionals will help you schedule a time to meet in one of our many communities. There, our onsite team will take you on a tour of the area, from the community itself to model homes and more.
#4 - Select Your Favorite Home
When you’ve had the chance to tour various homes and communities, we recommend selecting your favorite home.
Remember, find what works best for you and your needs. There are countless factors that impact this decision, so we recommend reviewing the following blog to ensure that you’re considering all possible variables before selecting a home.
#5 - Apply for a Home Loan
When you begin applying for home loans, please consider the following tips and best practices:
Making a Loan Application
Your Contract requires you to make loan application within three (3) days from contract date. Additionally, the builder requires conditional loan approval within 14 days of purchase agreement.
Your Sales Professional will provide you with the website information to make an online loan application. They’ll also include a list of required documents as well as the contact information for an account manager with First Choice Lending Group (FCLG), our approved lender. They can assist you with preparing all documentation required to complete the loan process.
First Choice Lending Group
10410 Windermere Lakes Blvd.
Suite 410-A
Houston, TX 77065
Office: 281-671-9004
Fax: 832-487-0940
firstchoicelg.com
Once you’ve completed your loan application and supplied all the necessary information, conditional loan approval will be delivered to you within five (5) business days.
Evaluating Helpful Mortgage Tips
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As stated in your contract, please provide all conditions and information satisfying your loan approval within three days of request from your lender.
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The lender may require additional information throughout the building process.
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Please consult your FCLG Account Manager before changing employment or making any large purchases.
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Locking your interest rate is at your own risk.
Determining Cash Purchases
If you plan to pay cash for your home, we require verification that funds are available to be submitted to your Sales Professional within three (3) days of signing your contract.
#6 - Sign the Contract
Your contract experience begins when you select the home that best suits your needs.
We will finalize all options when you sign your contract, so that we may submit the architectural drawings necessary for engineering and permitting as quickly as possible. Ultimately, this step is focused on confirming all the home’s selections and the closing window to ensure that your needs and expectations are met every step of the way.
#7 - Meet with Your Construction Superintendent
Another important component of the home purchasing process is that we encourage clients to meet with the superintendent involved in constructing their home.
During this meeting, they’ll confirm that the process is moving along and that it will close within the expected window. This helps you stay prepared as your closing date approaches.
#8 - Complete the Final Walkthrough
Before you officially close on your home, all clients can take one final walkthrough of their property with the Construction Manager.
During this time, you can check out the entire home inside and out, as well as review the warranty program and sign any necessary documents. Then, you’ll be all set to close and move in.
#9 - Close on Your Home
Here’s what you need to know about closing on your new home:
Closing Preparation
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Closing dates and times are coordinated by Legend Homes with LCH Title (LCH) approximately thirty (30) days prior to closing.
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Using FCLG and LCH, you will receive a settlement statement within two (2) business days prior to closing.
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When you use FCLG and LCH, funding verification is handled internally, and possession of your home will be turned over to you immediately after closing.
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Should you choose another lender, possession of your home will be given only after funding, which can take several days and delay move-in. Your mortgage company must ensure prior to closing that LCH will receive all funds.
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FCLG and LCH requests the name and telephone number of your homeowner’s insurance agent at least twenty-one (21) days prior to closing.
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If you still need to finalize homeowner’s insurance, a company we trust to streamline the process is Matic Insurance. Learn more about Matic and get a quote using this link.
LCH Title
10720 W. Sam Houston Pkwy N
Suite 200
Houston, TX 77064
Office: 713-892-8887
Closing Day Tips
LCH requires that all buyers listed on the contract be present at the scheduled time for closing unless prior arrangements have been made with the lender/title company before the date of closing.
Bring a valid driver’s license or other acceptable form of photo identification to closing.
Funding may be provided in the form of a cashier's check payable to LCH or as a wire transfer to LCH. These are the only acceptable forms of payment.
Note: You have the responsibility of arranging the transfer of all utilities.
New Home Key Presentation
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Upon funding your loan, your Sales Counselor will schedule a time to meet you at your new home to present your keys.
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You will be presented with the keys to your new home. For Legend Homes, this is the most rewarding step in the homebuilding process.
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Each key presentation symbolizes the culmination of our company’s team goal to deliver a beautifully completed home to your family to be enjoyed for years to come.
Terms to Know
When you’re buying a new home, sometimes it can feel like everyone is speaking a language you don’t understand. There are certain terms you need to know to make sense of it all. This is a basic list of those terms. For more information, please ask your Princeton Classic Homes Sales Counselor.
Costs in addition to the price of the home, which are paid at closing. These include taxes, title insurance, financing costs, items that must be prepaid or escrowed and other costs.
The deposit money given to the seller by the potential buyer when signing the sales contract.
An account held by the mortgage lender into which a homeowner pays money at the time of the periodic mortgage payments to cover annual property taxes and insurance.
An estimate of charges which a homebuyer is likely to incur in connection with their home purchase, including closing costs and monthly investment.
The governance body of a community, which enforces the covenants, conditions, and restrictions of managing the common amenities of the development.
A concession made by local taxing authorities to provide a reduction in property taxes by exempting a portion of the valuation of the homeowner’s principal residence from taxation.
A home on which construction has already begun or is complete before a homebuyer signs a contract on that home. Also known as a spec (speculative) home.
A pledge of real property given by the buyer to the lender as security for the repayment of money borrowed.
A fee homeowners pay to provide water, sewage, drainage and other services to their area. MUD rates generally decline over time as the district is built out and operating and debt service costs are shared by more homeowners.
Insurance policy that protects the buyer/owner of real property from successful claims of ownership to the property by others.