How Do You Buy A Home?

Filed Under Buyers |

In working with first-time homebuyers, there’s one clear question that needs a simple answer. How do you buy a home? That’s the question. The purchase of real estate is unlike any other purchase because it is a major financial transaction. One that should not be taken lightly (as many are finding out now after the sub-prime lending frenzy).

So how do you buy a home?

I’m going to share with you in this article, the very basic plan on how you buy a home. It is up to the reader to do their own due-diligence and learn more about the topic on their own - or by calling me.

As a first-time buyer, in one of the best buyers markets in decades, first and foremost, it is in your best interest, to find a good agent. Before I got my real estate license, I was an actual human being just like you, the reader (attempt at humor there). I believed that I, and I alone, would be best suited to “find a deal“.

After obtaining my license and working with many buyers, I have come to find that working with a qualified professional is definitely better than going it alone, thinking you’re “all that and a bag of chips”. Of course you have to find the right agent. That’s a personal preference, but they have to use cutting-edge tools and be available 24/7.

Now a good real estate agent will have the partners in the business and encourage you to either use their services or your own professional contacts in the mortgage/banking industry to determine your mortgage approval status. Determining how much you can afford and understanding the mortgage process is a great place to start.

Once you have established a basic knowledge for how much you can afford, it’s important to understand what you like, as a buyer. This may take a few visits to some open houses as you do some preliminary work to lay the foundation for your search. Knowing what you like and do not like is definitely advantageous to square away in the beginning. A worksheet that you take with you to view homes can help remind you of what you like and do not like. Second to this, allow the real estate agent you begin working with to guide your search a little. See what they come up with. If they can’t demonstrate an understanding of what it is you’re looking for, or they can’t (or don’t) talk to you about the realities of the market conditions and advise you about your price range, then it may be time to move on.

When you come to the point of making an offer, the basics of what to expect are simple. Once a price is agreed to, you will more than likely, have a home inspection completed. The home inspection is used specifically to determine if there are any major problems with the home. It is not a tool to renegotiate the tentative agreed upon price and terms.

From this point, the seller’s attorney will generate contracts and send them to your attorney. From this point, legalities will be discussed and as soon as both parties have agreed to contract stipulations and terms, the contracts will be signed. As the buyer, you will provide your attorney with the down payment, in the form of a check (make sure you have the money in the bank)!

Items such as an appraisal of the homes value, which will be used to establish an approval for the loan amount for your lender and verify to you and to all parties, that the home is valued accordingly.

Your attorney will order a title search, which will verify all information pertaining to liens on the property. You don’t want to buy a home with outstanding liens on it for obvious reasons.

You will then choose a home insurance carrier and have a policy in place to protect the home upon taking possession of the property. Your lender will require all of these items to be in place prior to closing.

The real estate closing will be scheduled according to each parties availability, most importantly, the buyers, sellers and their respective attorneys as well as the bank and title company. The real estate agent(s) will rearrange their schedule to match the closing date and their availability has no bearing on the closing whatsoever.

These are the basic to buying a home. If you have any questions on this topic, please feel free to call me at 631.831.9048 or leave a comment.

By Thomas McGiveron, Licensed Real Estate Salesperson

Oct

28

How Do You Buy A Home?

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