You've gotten a good lead on a particular property. You've called the homeowner and the prospect seems encouraging. You inspect the house, like what you see, and make an offer. Now the real test begins.

It may seem like a simple process to move from the final offer to the property closing. However, there are a number of steps you'll have to follow along the way. Miss a step and you could seriously jeopardize your deal-and lose a great house in the process.

In the best case scenario with a bank-owned house, you will receive a call from the realtor saying that the offer has been accepted. The realtor will then need earnest money, which usually amounts to $500 or $1,000. You then add your addendum and the final package is then sent to the asset manager.

The realtor will normally get back to you immediately-either the same day or one or two days afterward. Then, you move onto the paperwork. You'll be waiting to find out if the package has been signed by the originator of the loan. Then, a closing date will be set.

You will work with private lenders to have money sent to the closing table. The money will be sent via wire or bank check-not a personal check. You will need the routing number from the title agency so you can tell the private lender where to send the money to. Then, you work with your insurance company to set up hazard insurance. Obviously, you will need to know what your payments are going to be.

At the closing, you will be able to do the final signing over of the deed. This is a critical point in the home buying process. You pass out the checks and then you will receive the promissory note and the mortgage. You can then send the promissory note to the private lender.

Finally, the route from offer to closing is not always smooth. You can run into some bumps along the way. But if you are careful to take care of details, you communicate with all the people involved in the process, and you steer toward your goal, you can end up with a deal that you're happy with. And you can build a successful real estate business of buying and selling property to tenant buyers who are eager to have a home to call their own.