Reel Keeper Expert Advisors

Use the guide below to search homes for sale in Jacksonville and surrounding communities. Each of these pages contains the active real estate listings for that area, updated every day. If you already know which communities you like, be sure to sign up for email alerts of new listings as soon as they hit the market -- it's fast, easy, automatic and FREE!

If you are planning on buying a home using a home loan then these three tips will help you get prepared for the financing process. Credit scores play a big role in determining whether you'll qualify for a loan and what your loan terms will be. After your offer gets accepted, you'll have an inspection period.

You can't know everything there is to know about buying a home, especially when you're a first-time homebuyer. One of the biggest mistakes first-time homebuyers make is not shopping around for a mortgage. Most loan programs require a credit score of 620 or higher to buy a house for the first time. That includes conventional loans, most VA loans, and USDA loans (which require 640+).

Before the offer to purchase is created, you must be at least pre-qualified or, better yet, pre-approved by a lender, unless you are paying cash. Our team will do an analysis of the property to help you decide what a solid offer on the property looks like. The seller accepts the offer. Everyone is happy and as soon as both sides sign the offer letter, you're officially under contract and on your way to buying a house!

Once your offer is accepted by the seller it starts the next phase of the transaction. You will be asked for a down payment, typically 1% of the purchase price, on the home you are purchasing which will be held with an attorney or settlement company and applied to the final purchase of your property.