Buying
Home Buying Guide
Looking for a new home can be a daunting task. We put together this buying guide to help you understand the process.
Set Your Price Limit
Know how much home you can afford. Get pre-approved from a bank if you are not sure. There is no sense looking at homes that are outside of what the bank will loan you.
Start your Home Search
Decide what location(s) are suitable for your new home. Filtering by city, school district, or even county is a great place to start. If you want to narrow your search, we can filter by just about anything (number of bedrooms, baths, sqft, etc.). Tell us your bank-approved budget amount and what you are looking for, and we’ll set up email alerts notifying you immediately when there is a match to your search requirements. When housing supply is limited (like in this market), your filters can’t be too restrictive or you won’t have many matches.
PreScreen Your Choices
When you do find one of interest, do your homework and study all the data and photos and make sure it’s one you really want to pursue. Professional photos can skew the actual appearance of a home. Do a driveby and make sure you like the neighborhood and the view of the home from the street. If a drive-by isn’t practical, use Google maps (street view and/or satellite view) to get a virtual look.
Check the setting of the home (corner lot, private yard, busy road, overhead power lines, nearby railroad). Check for nearby schools, churches, grocery stores, shopping, parks, etc.
Schedule a Home Tour
If it’s a strong contender, let us know and we’ll schedule a showing. If it’s not a strong contender, we don’t want to waste time of the sellers, both real estate agents, or your time viewing the home.
Give us days and times that suit and we’ll coordinate an appointment with the sellers. We’ll meet you at the home and tour it together. We will help you decipher what opportunities or challenges the property may have and answer any questions that arise. If we don’t know the answers right away, we will get the answers for you.
Making an Offer
If you like what you see and want to move forward with it, it’s time to put together an offer. We’ll provide a market analysis to ensure the asking price is fair and what a strong offer will be. No low balling… low ball offers are generally a waste of everyone’s time unless the seller is extremely motivated. We only want to work with clients who understand market valuation and are willing to submit reasonable offers based on factual data.
Offer price is only one aspect of the offer. We’ll help you decide what contingencies or concessions should accompany the offer (if any). Home inspections are usually highly recommended as this will provide important detailed information on the condition of the home you are about to purchase and any potential problem areas.
Negotiations
We believe in presenting strong offers, but sellers may still counter-offer if the price and/or terms are lower than their expectations. We have extensive experience in handling negotiations to protect the best interests of our clients and will provide insight as to what terms the seller may accept.
Mortgage Application & Appraisal
Once the agreement documents are finalized, you’ll need to complete the mortgage application process (usually takes 4 weeks). Your lender will order an appraisal to ensure the agreement price is indeed fair market value. If the appraisal does not confirm the agreement price is fair market value, there are a few steps to take (appeal the appraisal, renegotiate the purchase price, etc.). We’ll help you decide which steps to take to ensure your best interests are met
Home Inspections & Contingencies
If you have contingencies (like a home inspection), we’ll have to coordinate them with the seller in the allotted time frame of our contract. Inspections will be billed directly to you from the vendors you hire to do the work. Any unsatisfactory findings can provide a way to negotiate corrective measures, price adjustments or even a way out of the contract.
Closing the Deal
One day before (or the day of settlement) you’ll want to do another home tour to make sure everything is in the same condition as when the agreement was signed, any repairs done by the seller are actually complete, and all fixtures/appliances, etc remain as stated in the contract.
A title or settlement company will prepare the documents required to complete the transaction. Your lender and the settlement company will be able to explain and answer any questions you have regarding financing and the settlement documents. We are also available to review this information and help you understand anything that seems unclear or confusing.