Buying a home can be a complicated procedure. From finding your home, to procuring financing, to making a deal, the deal can take months and involve everybody from real estate agents to home inspectors. Knowing what’s involved in the procedure before beginning down the road to buying your home can help save you time, stress and money. The better prepared you are, the more likely you should come away from the experience equally protected in the buying procedure and joyful in your selection of a new residence.
Make a checklist of everything you want in a home. Contain the basic qualities you need at a minimum, such as lot size, home size, number of bedrooms and baths –anything that can help you differentiate from the available homes in your preferred area.
Prequalify for a mortgage. Find a lender who will prequalify you for a mortgage so that you will have some notion of the total amount of financing available when you look for your home. Provide the lender with the financial information requested so that you can check your credit standing and decide on how much it is willing to lend you.
Get a mortgage preapproval from a lender instead of a prequalification for a stronger determination of funding chances. The preapproval process uses a more rigorous background check into your financing by the lender that results in a greater overall picture of your financial status. Therefore, it’s a better indicator of your ability for the funding levels recorded and goes somewhat further in demonstrating financial capability to sellers.
Start the home search. Look around the locale where you wish to buy the home for an available home that meets your qualifications. Make sure your search doesn’t include properties outside your prequalification cost range. Find available homes available by searching through real estate ads in local papers, or by checking for-sale-by-owner sites online. Cut down search time significantly by having a realtor who services the area whittle down the list of houses available to coordinate with your qualifications list. Make a list of the homes you’ve identified for additional consideration.
Pay a visit to the homes on your list. Keep a list of all the homes you visit, such as details of your visit. When looking at the homes, check their overall state. Examine the homes inside and out for places in need of repair. Shop around until you find a home that meets your qualifications in a price you can afford.
Prepare an offer for your home. Base your offer on the market value of the home, not the list price. Determine the market value by considering the cost where other homes in the area of comparable construction have sold. Lower your offer in case the home is in disrepair, or in the event the home is in an area with plenty of homes available. Examine the length of time the home was on the market. The longer the home has been available, the lower your offer can go. The vendor might be highly motivated to sell in this circumstance. Consult your realtor about the offer. Guarantee that the offer leaves you space to raise the cost to your financing degree.
Make the offer on the home based on your market value decision. Contain your offer price, a closing date, the amount of earnest money you’re prepared to put on the offer and the length of time that the offer is great. Set a reasonable time period for the vendor to think about your offer–from a few days to a week. Also include any contingencies in your offer that cover concerns you may have, such as the return of earnest money should the deal fall through because of funding issues. Look at making the offer based on the home’s passing an inspection by a certified home inspector. Await the offer to be approved, rejected or countered.
Negotiate the terms of your offer. Increase your offer if the first offer is rejected or to negotiate your way to a cost acceptable to both you and the seller. Ensure you detail exactly what’s included in the sale, in addition to the home and grounds, such as any appliances or miscellaneous products. Continue to negotiate till you reach a decent cost. Write down any changes in the agreement and sign it, acquiring the vendor sign as well. The new agreement is a legally binding contract.
Return to the lender and fill out the necessary forms to turn your prequalification into a genuine mortgage loan. Await the lender to put you through final credit approval–roughly one to eight months. You will likely have to pay a credit check fee, program fee and an appraisal fee.
Perform a last inspection of the property to be sure it’s in the agreed-upon condition. Signal a transfer deed with the vendor and pay the vendor for the home using the home from the lender. Pay the closing costs and pay your down payment to the mortgage with your lender. Make sure the signatures are seen and you also record the dead with the county recorder’s office.