Buying A Home

The Search and Preparation for Purchasing a Home

You've been searching online and getting an idea of the market in your area. But what if that perfect house come up, what is next? We want to make sure you don't miss the perfect house when it hits the market. To insure you are ready when the time comes, lets walk through the home buying process.

Finding A Lender

If financing will be a part of your purchase, we will need to have a pre approval letter from ready to present with your offer. Your realtor may be able to help you with lender recommendations. You want to know your lender is easy to communicate with and is very responsive. You should feel comfortable to ask your lender as many questions about loan programs, interest rates and as many small questions you can think of. You will want to be informed, this is a big purchase !

You should understand at the end of the pre-qualification process what purchase price you qualify for and, what your down payment and monthly payments will look like.

Meet with your realtor

It's time to talk about what is important to you in a home. I will walk you through the process with many questions, here are a few for example :
How many Bedrooms and Bathrooms do you need?
Is the Lot Size important to you?
Do you need a specific School District?
Do you need a garage or shop? How big if so?
Any other Must Haves I should be aware of?

I will then as your buyers agent set up a home search and send you homes that may fit your criteria as they come on the market. It is a great time to give me more feedback on what you are seeing. I will then set up home tours at a time convenient to you for you, we will see as many homes that are in your budget and that seem to be a great fit.

The Purchase Process

Making and Offer on A Home

You have found a great home, and it's time to make an offer. I will talk with you about the details of the offer and get all the paperwork ready for you. I will then present the offer and pre-approval letter to the sellers agent. The Seller will Either ACCEPT, COUNTER, or REJECT your offer. It is my job to keep great communication open with the sellers agent, and do everything I can to look out for your interests. Hopefully this results in getting a mutually accepted offer in place and moving forward with purchasing the home.

Your Offer Is Accepted!

Your agent will open escrow and deposit your earnest money within the timeline stated in the sales agreement (usually 3 business days). Your agent will help you get inspections set up in a timely manner. You will have a timeframe, usually 10 business days, to negotiate repairs and come to agreement on them.

Steps to Purchasing a home You've found the perfect home and your offer has been accepted…..here is what is next.

Earnest Money After an offer has been accepted, the earnest money needs to be secured with the escrow company of the seller’s choosing. This money needs to be to escrow within three business days of the accepted offer date (unless specified otherwise). We will coordinate picking up that check from you and getting it to escrow in a timely manner.

Inspection Period
Immediately after an offer has been accepted, we normally have 10 business days to for the inspection period to be completed. I will send out a list of preferred inspectors in the area to reach out to in regards to setting up this appointment as soon as possible. It is a good idea to complete this inspection promptly so if any issues arise, there is enough time allotted for the seller to try fix any repairs that both parties have come to terms on. It is also good to note that if you prefer a radon test to be implemented, it takes 48 hours for the results to come back. Inspections last for 2-3 hours on average. An agent will be there from start to finish, but it is a good idea to stop by for the last half hour to go through a walkthrough with the inspector so you are aware of anything major that needs to be addressed. Appraisal The next step taken is from the lender to order the appraisal. Once that is received, and a value is determined, the lender will work on clearing the rest of the conditions in preparation for the loan docs.

Day of Signing
Just as a reminder, you will sign your loan documents with the title/escrow company prior to closing. As soon as the title company receives the loan documents from your lender, your escrow officer will call you to schedule your signing. Depending on when the documents arrive this could happen last minute, so it is good to keep your schedule open. The escrow officer will prepare your estimated settlement statement and tell you the exact dollar amount you need to bring into signing. You will need to bring in either a certified check made out to the title company for the amount you owe or wire transfer funds from your banking institution. You will also need to bring in your driver's license for notary purposes. Your signing will take place at the title company during business hours and it will take between 1-2 hours depending on how many questions you have. We will review your estimated settlement statement before you sign to make sure everything is correct.