A guy I use to rent an apartment from is trying to sell me a house that he had built. He doesn't work through a real estate company or anything, but he called himself a realtor. He also had me sign a purchase agreement. I have not applied for a loan or anything yet. Just wondering how the whole process of buying a house works? thanksHe told me that he does not have a real estate license. When in the process of buying a home do you usually apply for the loan?

The paragraph below was taken from the National Board of Realtor's website. It states that membership is composed of brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, and counselors. I know that to be recognized as any of the above one needs a real estate license or appraiser's license. I am not sure about counselors. Nevertheless, I would ask your agent to produce his Realtor I.D. card or call the local office to check him out. He may be using the term loosely without understanding the implications, or he may be trying to misrepresent himself. Proceed with caution.The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, The Voice for Real Estate®, is the world's largest professional association. Founded in 1908, NAR has grown from its original nucleus of 120 to over 1.3 million members today. NAR is composed of REALTORS® who are involved in residential and commercial real estate as brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry. The term REALTOR® is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.To answer your question about when to apply for a loan- if you have already put an offer on a home than the time is now to start talking to lenders to get pre-approved. A good lender will get full lender approval subject to a satisfactory appraisal. In other words, don't wait. If you already have an accepted offer, your contract will provide for a loan contingency period which states the number of days you have to secure financing. You want to get loan approval before that period expires or you can lose your deposit.