We Are Here To Support YouBuying Your Property
Get Ready to Buy
You’re ready to buy – or maybe you’re just ready to start seriously thinking about buying. There’s a lot you can do to prepare. With so much information available at your fingertips, you may already be doing a lot of your own research. Here are a few things to keep in mind while you get started.
Determine Your Price Range
The best place to start when buying a home is to find out how much house you can afford. I can refer you to a loan officer who can assist you with determining how much of a down payment you can afford, along with a monthly payment you are comfortable with, and the type of loan that fits your needs best. Serious buyers who are highly motivated should go through the effort of getting pre-approved; not only will this allow you to focus your home search, but it will also position you as a serious buyer in the eyes of sellers when the time comes to make an offer.
Make A List And Prioritize
Imagine your ideal home and community. Now make a list of everything you envisioned. Then take that list and break it down from high to low priority. High-priority items are the things you cannot live without in your new home. Lower-priority items are those that are an added bonus, but not necessary. Your list can include things such as: number of bedrooms, need for a yard, style of home, and access to schools and shopping.
Tour Homes In Person and Online
Some people look at several homes before finding just the right one. And others find “the one” immediately. Thanks to the internet, you can streamline your search process significantly by checking out homes for sale online. And when you’re ready, I can tour homes with you on your schedule and create a personal checklist for each one.
The Buying Process
You’ve found the home you can see yourself living in, now what? There are several steps to the buying process you will go through before you can officially call it your own.
Purchase And Sale Agreement
Once an offer on a property has been made by a buyer and accepted by the seller, they enter into a legal contract known as a Purchase and Sale Agreement. This document outlines the specific terms and conditions of the transaction and is acknowledged by both parties by the signing of the document.
Inspection
Once a buyer and seller reach mutual acceptance on a property, a home inspector is hired to investigate every nook and cranny to determine if the home is in need of any repairs. An inspector will check items, such as the roof, basement, heating system, water heater, air-conditioning system, structure, plumbing, and electrical. Afterwards, buyers will have a chance to negotiate with the sellers to cover the costs of certain repairs or to ask for concessions.
Negotiation
Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, negotiation is the key to getting the best deal. Negotiations can involve everything from settling on a sales price to concessions and financing. I’m an expert negotiator whose job it is to represent your interests during the give and take of a real estate transaction.
Financing
You may already be pre-approved, but now that you’re closer to the actual purchase price, you’ll be working more in-depth with your lender on your final loan approval.
Title Insurance
You will receive a full report detailing the property history for you and your lender to ensure there are no legal encumbrances between a new owner and the property being purchased.
Escrow
Once the offer is accepted and a closing date agreed upon, escrow allows the buyer and the seller to have an outside party ensure all parts of the contact are complete. I can help coordination the completion of all necessary forms to the escrow company and monitor the escrow process until the transaction is complete.
Closing
At closing, all the paperwork is signed by the buyer and seller, both parties pay any settlement fees and the documents are officially recorded. Prior to closing, you’ll receive a settlement statement outlining any fees which may apply to you. After closing is finalized and recorded, the home is yours!
Buying Tips
The Dream Home Checklist
These six items will help you prioritize the features, elements, and amenities you’re looking for in your new home. There are some that you must have, and there are some that you would like have if price allows, and there are probably some on the checklist that you hadn’t even thought about until now.
1. Price
Knowing ahead of time how much you can afford and what you are able to spend immediately enables us to narrow down the vast market of homes to about 10 percent of what’s currently on the market.
2. Type of property
Are you looking for a house, town home, condo, co-op, or multi-unit home?
3. Condition of property
New or old? How much sweat equity do you want to put into the property? Do you want to pay a little less and invest time and money to improve the house yourself, or do you want to buy a house that’s ready to move into?
4. Must-haves
The must-have is essential in your new home. For example: “We have a newborn baby, so we must have a two-bedroom house.”
5. Nice-to-haves
A nice-to-have may get nixed out of the mix if price becomes an issue. For example: “We have a newborn baby, so we would like to have a three-bedroom house to have an extra room for guests or for a home office.” That third bedroom is not a must-have and you could (or may have to) live without it to get into a house you can afford.
Determining nice-to-haves vs. should-haves
Knowing your must-haves vs. should-haves is a key element to house shopping. It will help us sort through all the properties on the market quickly and easily, helping us focus on those that are in your price range and worth your time and energy to view and inspect.
Of course you will amend your must-haves and nice-to-haves. As you begin to preview houses, you will have to make some compromises on your list. Separating your must-haves from your nice-to-haves lets you decide where you can compromise to meet your budget.
6. Location
Where do you want to live? If you’re like most home buyers, you have a basic idea of where you want to live. Proximity to family, friends and/or work plays a significant part in where you ultimately want to put down roots. However, there is a lot of leeway within these parameters – neighborhoods and communities within the same distance often vary quite a lot.
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