If you’re like most people, buying a home represents your single biggest investment. As such, the home buying process can be one of the most exciting, but sometimes also stressful, experiences you ever go through. This may be true whether you’ve bought many homes or you’re looking to buy your first, whether you’re in the market for a new primary residence, or investment property.
Moreover, never has the real estate market offered more great opportunities, or has been fraught with more risks, than now. There are many factors to consider and many decisions to make. That’s why when buying, it’s crucial for you to have all of the available resources necessary to make a well informed decision, together with the time required to make complete use of them. I am a trusted Realtor who’ll be able to provide you with expert consultation at each step of the buying process.
Generally, finding and purchasing a home includes the following steps, some of which are examined in more detail.
- Define your goals, research your options Make your plans Given that buying a home is such a big step, it’s all the more important for you to educate and prepare yourself as much as possible in advance. This means clearly determining why you’re buying and what kind of home you’re looking for. And because buying and financing a home are so closely related, it also means examining your current financial situation and project how much you can afford. Once you’ve answered these questions, even tentatively, you’ll be in a better position to research your housing and mortgaging options, as well as create an action plan and timelines for moving forward.
- Making contact Buying real estate is a complex matter at the best of times, given that there are so many factors to consider and no two home or transactions are alike. However, with all of the unique opportunities and potential pitfalls of the current market, it’s even more important for you to let me guide you through the property search, negotiation, and transaction process.
- Get pre-approved for a loan It is highly recommended that you get pre-qualified for a loan BEFORE you start viewing homes with serious intention of buying. The pre-approval process involves meeting with a lender and authorizing them to examine your current financial situation and credit history. On the basis of this examination the lender will provide you with a document that details how much you can borrow to buy a home. You may want to consider looking online to see what different lenders offer, or contacting your local bank or credit union. If needed, I will be able to suggest lenders with a history of offering excellent mortgage products and services. The benefits of pre-qualification include:
- You’ll have information about what you can afford and be able to plan accordingly
- As a qualified, motivated buyer you’ll be taken seriously when you make an offer on a home.
- Lenders can tell you whether you qualify for any special programs that will enable you to afford a better home (particularly if you’re a first time buyer).
- View homes and select THE ONE Simply put, key to the home search process is knowing what you’re looking for. Among other things, that means distinguishing between “must haves” and “like to haves”. That said, here are a few recent facts about the search process that might put your experience into perspective:
- Almost 90% of buyers use the internet to search for homes
- The typical buyer searches for 12 weeks and views 12 homes
- 81% of buyers view real estate agents as very useful in the search process There are many benefits to starting the search process at a real estate website. You can view many homes and their details, take video tours and access neighborhood information. However, it’s also important to view homes in person. While their property details may seem similar online, homes can actually be very different in terms of layout, design, and other aspects. In addition you should ideally view homes with my help being an experienced and eagle-eyed Realtor who’ll notice things you might miss, provide expert analysis, and act as an impartial sounding board.
- Make an offer and negotiate with the seller. Now that you’ve found the home you’d like to buy, it’s time to make an offer. Our real estate association, working with legal counsel, has developed the contracts that are used for transactions. These contracts enable you to specify a sale price and also include many clauses for specifying various terms of purchase, such as the closing and possession dates, your deposit amount, and other conditions. Together we will review these clauses to ensure that they express your desired offer. In addition to drawing up the contract, I will be happy to address all of your questions about the offer process. Once you’ve written the offer, I will present it to the seller’s representative. At that point, the process – given that a home’s eventual sale price is subject to supply and demand – will depend on the kind of market you’re in. Generally though, the seller can accept your offer, reject it, or counter it to initiate the negation process. Successive counter-offers, with deadlines for responding and meeting conditions, will be exchanged between you and the seller until a mutually-satisfactory pending agreement is reached or the negotiations breakdown. These negotiations can involve many factors relating to different market conditions, homes and sellers.
- Secure your financing Once you have a pending agreement, it’s time to go back to your chosen lender to finalize your mortgage details so you can close the deal. This means finalizing your down payment, interest rate, regular payment schedule and any other financial conditions associates with the closing. As noted in the section on pre-approval, if you’ve already been qualified with a lender for a certain loan and home purchase, this phase of buying your new home should be a relatively straightforward matter that centers around finalizing the loan details and signing the mortgage papers. As the old saying goes, “let the buyer beware”. Particularly in these times, when so many buyers are suffering the consequences of having not fully understood their financing decisions, it’s crucial for you to work with people you trust.
- Close the deal If you’ve efficiently taken care of everything connected with purchasing your new home, the experience of taking ownership will be a positive joy with no surprises. Key steps to the closing also referred to as the “escrow”.
- Getting a title search – making sure there are no claims on the property.
- The final walk through – you’ll be given the chance to look at the home to make sure it’s in the same condition as when you signed the sale agreement.
- The settlement – Typically, on the closing date you’ll go to a lawyer’s office to verify and sign all of the paperwork required to complete the transaction. The settlement will include paying your closing costs, legal fees, property adjustments and any applicable transfer taxes. At that point, you’ll receive the property title and copies of all documentation pertaining to the property.
