Having a level of confidence will help you in the home-buying process and this guide will outline all of the things you will need to be familiar with during this process.
Step 1 get your finances in order:
Check your credit score
This can be done by the lender or by you personally. Three credit agencies have this information Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Any discrepancies must be discovered and sorted out so that you can get the highest possible score.
Get familiar with different types of loans and terms
Fixed-rate, Adjustable rate, Interest only, blended mortgage, no or little money down, etc.
The best way to do this is to sit down with a bank or a mortgage broker and discuss the benefits and uses for all these different types. You want the correct loan that is going to suit you and your home-buying plan. Look out for things like mortgage insurance and discount points. These can sometimes be unforeseen and unnecessary costs.
Get a pre-approved Mortgage
This will provide you with a financial basis to help you in your search. You don’t want to waste your time looking at places you cannot afford it will only make you depressed. You must keep in mind that most likely this will not be your home for the rest of your life and that this is a stepping stone to the next level.
Step 2 Determine Wants and Needs:
Take a sheet of paper and divide it into two categories wants and needs. If there are two of you each make a list and then compare and compromise. In this phase, you should consider some time horizon for how long you will own the property and what is the resale value and potential.
Step 3 Find out What your Real Estate Agent is Going to do for You?
Discuss the different types of working relationships that exist between you and your agent.
What types of services will they provide for you and what role in the search and negotiations will they play?
Step 4 Begin the Search
- Have your agent do an initial search with your specific criteria in mind.
- Next, sit down with the agent and figure out which properties you would like to preview. Try to pick a time that you will be able to view as many properties as possible so that you can begin to compare and contrast all of the different properties. It is helpful to take notes when viewing the properties because it is easy to get confused after looking at several different locations.
- After the initial overview determine if you would like to take a closer more thorough look at any of the properties.
Step 5 Making an Offer
- After going back for a second visit and you decide to make an offer there are several things to consider.
- The most important thing is the offer price. You should talk with the agent about this and determine the different market and property-specific variables that go into coming up with an offer price.
- Have the offer acceptance deadline relatively quickly. With technology, there is no reason the seller should not be able to respond within 48 hrs at a maximum.
- Keep in mind that making an offer does not obligate you to buy the property. There are several more stages where the deal can be walked away from. by the buyer.
- If the offer is accepted and the contracts are signed then you must discuss with your agent all of the points in the contract to buy and sell.
Step 6 Closing
After the contracts have been signed then time is of the essence.
There will be a series of deadlines that will need to be adhered to strictly leading up to the closing date. If any of these deadlines are broken then the contract can become void. This is the time that having an agent working for you pays off.
The last step is the closing meeting this is when the lender funds the transaction the title is transferred from the seller to the buyer.
