Buying your New Home

Buying a home can be stressful, but with a bit of planning ahead of time, it’s not all that complicated. So you understand exactly what to expect, we provide buyers with an outline of the whole deal. Below are our nine steps to buying a home.

Step 1 – Prepare to buy

There are plenty of things you’ll want to do prior to beginning your home search. It’s likely that you’ll want to create a list of must-haves, get an idea of what school districts you want to live in, and begin planning your budget. Keeping your mortgage payment less than 30 percent of your net monthly income is a good rule to adhere to.

Step 2 – Talk to Pro

Schedule a time to meet with one of our agents who will speak with you regarding why you want to buy a home and get an idea of your upcoming plans. We’ll discuss neighborhoods, schools in the area, the mortgage industry, and any additional economic factors that may affect your purchase today or in the future.

We will also assist you with getting started on your loan. We have a great relationship with a direct lender that works in our office, so you’re in great hands. They can help you choose which type of loan is best for you, as well as help to get you pre-approved.

Step 3 – Begin your home search

Following our first meeting, we will begin finding houses on the market that best suit you. We can both preview many of the houses and throw out the bad ones, and then we’ll schedule appointments to view the houses whenever it’s most convenient for you.

When we tour homes, we will point out good features and negative ones. And we can discuss the things you like and don’t like. Often times, buyers revise their must-have list as we view houses and some things become far more important than others. If such is the case, we will search the listings again and narrow it down to the house you’ve been wishing for.

Step 4 – Get a grasp of the housing market

Your agent’s understanding of the market is an imperative component in your home search. We can assure you that we are acquainted with all the neighborhoods and schools, and can communicate what areas are “hot” and call for immediate action and the ones that are “cold” and allow for careful examination.

As we view homes, we will let you know when the seller’s list price has room for bargaining and also when we believe the house is “priced to sell.”

Step 5 – Find the house you’ve been waiting for

We’re certain we’ll find the home of your dreams. When we do, we will thoroughly develop your purchase offer. The offer will be tailored exactly to your needs, including some contingencies, such as getting financing, carrying out the home inspection, and a clean title.

When we send in your purchase offer, you’ll likely need to submit “earnest money.” This is a cash deposit submitted to a home seller to secure the offer to buy the property and is usually applied to the closing costs. If your offer is accepted by the seller, we should close about 30 to 60 days after. This allows enough time for your mortgage financing.

Step 6 – Negotiate

Most deals aren’t closed on the beginning offer. It’s widely common to receive a counter offer. Don’t let this alarm you. We’ll talk about whether or not to agree to the counter offer, present our own counter offer, or decline the seller’s offer and go on.

Market circumstances will play a role in how aggressively we negotiate the deal. In addition, we’ll work within your financing budget. And when it’s all said and done, we’ll create a deal that’s best for you.

Step 7 – Secure a loan

Upon signing the deal, you’ll start working with your mortgage lender to close the loan. This shouldn’t take much time at all if you’re already pre-approved, but you need to stay in close contact with your mortgage lender. And I’ll take care of all the property information your lender needs to close the loan.

Step 8 – Close the deal

Your lender will furnish you with a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) detailing closing costs within three days of taking your application. This estimate depends on the loan amount, and RESPA requirements dictate that it has to include all closing costs and fall within a tight range of accuracy. We will analyze the estimate and let you know if everything looks good.

Then it’s time to close on your home. This will most likely take place at a title company or our office and will probably be a smooth and relaxed occurrence.

Step 9 – Move in

You made it! It’s time to move into your new house, and enjoy it!