Steps to Buying Your Dream Home
Purchasing a home can be an exciting experience that involves many big decisions. As a buyer, it is important to understand the entire process and ask questions along the way. Here are the basic steps to expect on the road to your new home.
Whether you’re a first-time home buyer, single home buyer or have purchased properties in the past, contact our team for more helpful information.
Deciding to Buy:
- Determine how much you can afford to spend on a home.
- Calculate the funds you may have available for a down payment.
- Identify the future use of your home:
- Do you plan on having children or growing your family?
- Will you soon have an empty nest?
- Might you need to care for aging parents?
- Create a list of home features you need or can’t live without and a list of features that are simply “nice to have” or unnecessary.
- Evaluate your time and skill level to do repair work and touchups on an older home versus a newly constructed one.
- Contact a loan officer to get a pre-approval for a mortgage. It will help you identify your available loan size and provide you with your affordable target range. For pre- approval, you will need to know:
- Cash available for a down payment
- Cash available for closing costs
- Current income
- Job status
- Estimated assets
- Estimated debts
Shopping for a Home:
- Work with one of our trained and professional agents:
- An agent can help you find listings that meet your specifications, schedule showings and provide you with insight on the home value and its location.
- Our agents will do the legwork for you and guide you to your dream home (not an overpriced money pit).
- Schedule showings with your agent.
- Ask for a copy of the sellers disclosure, a document on which the seller provides information about the age and condition of the house.
- Verify the school district, taxes, parking, flood history, etc.
- View an aerial map of the area for rail lines, major roadways, hospitals, streams, etc.
- Drive or walk through the development to assure the neighborhood suits your needs and family’s desires.
- Take your time and be patient. Buying a home is a big decision, don’t rush into it!
Making an Offer:
- Identify the maximum amount you can afford to prevent over spending.
- Consult with your agent to place a bid on the home. Our agents can help you determine a fair price as well as negotiate with the seller and seller’s agent.
- Prepare your offer to ensure it is within your price range and includes:
- The pre-approval letter to strengthen the bid.
- Any contingencies or conditions to your offer.
- Wait for the seller to accept, reject or counter, which can take hours or days.
- In the event of a counteroffer, you can accept or “counter the counter.”
Offer accepted, now what?
- Our agents act like your quarterback, we will facilitate and watch over all of the moving parts during the critical stages of the next 30 to 60 days.
- Your agent will set up any necessary home, radon, sewer, water and pest inspections.
- We will send the final agreement of sale to a lender and title company (attorney) who will conduct the closing and provides title insurance.
- Consult a lender or mortgage broker to obtain a loan.
- Do not make any large or new purchases on credit at this time which could jeopardize your ability to receive a loan.
- You will apply for a Homeowners Insurance policy which provides fire and storm damage protection.
- We will send the final agreement of sale to a lender and title company (attorney) who will conduct the closing and provides title insurance.
- Our agents calculate all the closing costs so you have no surprises at settlement.
- Consult an accountant for tax purposes if your closing date is near the end of the year.
- We will keep in touch with your lender and title company to ensure all the necessary paperwork has been processed.
- We will schedule a walk through on the day of settlement to confirm the seller has completed repairs and other contingencies in the agreement.
Heading to Closing Day:
- Bring funds for your down payment (the title company will send us the final dollar amount) and settlement costs, usually in the form of a cashier’s check.
- Bring along a valid photo ID (drivers license)
- Discuss all paperwork with your agent before providing your signature.
- The home is officially yours when the seller signs the house over to you.
- The title company provides you with title insurance and will file the new deed in the local court house.
- Enjoy your new Home!!!!