Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.
Real estate agents can offer you insightful information. Fortunately, you won’t have to pay for them out of pocket! When it comes to selling or buying a home, real estate agents play pivotal roles. Their experience with the process of buying a home, familiarity with an area you’re interested in, and negotiating skills can be quite beneficial to you.
This first step is important when you’re buying a home. Prior to even entertaining the idea of buying a property, you must determine how much money you have to work with. The most optimal approach of figuring this out is through mortgage prequalification. To become prequalified, simply provide your financial details to a mortgage banker. This information can include how much investments and savings you have, as well as how much income you bring in.
The mortgage consultant can assess the information you provide and reveal how much you’ll be able to borrow. This will give you a ballpark price range to help you narrow down your choices. Down the road, you will receive mortgage preapproval. Before that happens, you’ll need to present some financial documents to your lender so your credit and financial status can be verified. The financial documents you’ll be asked to submit include bank statements, W-2 statements, and paycheck stubs, among other forms.
You need to figure out the kind of home you intend to purchase. Once you know what kind of house is within your budget, both you and the I can concentrate on homes that you can afford. Once complete the touring of homes begins.
After finding a home that interests you, an offer can be made for it. Real estate agents are quite handy for this process. Offers are based on what homes within the area are currently selling for. A contract will be drawn up by the real estate agent that a buyer will agree to. This contract will list the offer price, in addition to terms that both the buyer and seller must meet for the transaction to be successful. The CHR team will make sure that a contract abides by all legalities.
Upon acceptance of your offer, your Earnest Money will be deposited in escrow through a check or wire. An escrow account will then be opened and a title report is ordered. Escrow accounts are necessary to collect payments for homeowners' insurance, property taxes, and other relevant fees.
The property to be purchased must be first thoroughly assessed by a home inspector. Generally, purchase offers revolve around property home inspections. Home inspectors look for structural damage signs, as well as areas that may warrant repair. Your real estate agent can help schedule a qualified home inspector within several days of an offer’s acceptance. Such a contingency provides you with an opportunity to have your offer renegotiated or withdrawn without consequence in the event of damages exposed by a home inspection.
A report will be issued to the seller and the buyer revealing the findings of the home inspection. From there, you may request repairs to the home before a sale is closed. Prior to closing, you’ll have an opportunity to walk through the home. You can check to see if requested repairs were followed through on. An appraiser will be sent by the lender to make sure that you’re buying a property at fair market value.
Once the conditions of the underwriters are met, loan documentation will get drawn up and sent to either an escrow company or a signing agent. You’ll be contacted by a loan officer to schedule a time to sign the paperwork. Once the documents are signed, they’ll be forwarded to the lender, who will finance your loan. From there, closing funds will be sent to escrow via wire transfer. A grant deed will then be signed by the seller.
At closing, all necessary paperwork – including loan documents – will be signed to finalize the purchase. Seller and Buyer may sign at separate times. Based on the Possession date on the Contract, it will determine when you will take possession of the home. Now it is time to enjoy your New Home!
Get assistance in determining the current property value, crafting a competitive offer, writing and negotiating a contract, and much more. Contact me today.
