Are you in the market to purchase a new home, maybe this is your very first time buying a home. This can be an exciting adventure for either one. Our home buying guide will take you through the steps of purchasing a home so you’ll have a good idea of what to expect. This will help make the process go smoothly as possible.
Goals & Finances
Before getting started on your home search, it’s important to understand or set some goals or parameters in what you are looking for in a new home. Things such as desired communities or neighborhoods you wish to consider, types of homes you like and amenities are on the must-have list. Are schools an important part of this home purchase? Be sure to do your research before starting the home buying process. Finances, is your financial house in order and ready to take on this purchase? Make a detailed budget outlining your desired purchase price and savings you have on hand to support other cost involved in the process.
Pre-Qualification
Contact several local lenders in your community to consider working with on the purchase of your home. Find out what the current interest rates are being offered, along with other services and fees you may incur. This is a crucial part of the process and a good mortgage broker will help make the process go smoothly. Have your pre-qualification in place will allow your agent to search for and show you the right homes to meet your budget needs. Another bonus in having a pre-qualification completed will come when you are ready to write an offer on that home you find. It can be a determining factor in getting your offer accepted.
Hire a Real Estate Professional
Find a good local realtor to represent you as a Buyer’s Agent. Ask around your family, friends, neighbors or colleagues that may have recently purchased a home. From searching for homes, coordinating the showings, writing an offer and negotiating the final terms of the contract, the agent is there to protect your interest in this process and answer any questions you may have. If your married, make sure you and your spouse are in agreement on which agent you feel has your best interest in mind and will be there for you.
Search For Homes
This is where the fun begins. This is the time to sit down with your agent, discuss what you’re looking for, bBasically your Wish-List. Be sure to view these home in person, pictures can be great online, but sometimes can be misleading. How much of that budget are you willing to spend? Keep in mind. There’s no perfect house out there. We like to use what we call the 80, 10, 10 rule. Basically, we find a house that meets about 80% of what they’re looking for, 10% you can make changes too and the other 10% you can live with for now.
Write and Offer and Negotiate
Once you have found your “perfect” house, it’s time to write an offer. This is the time where your agent will discuss with you the components of a great offer. These could include an earnest money deposit, your due diligence period, any contingencies you may have and an estimated closing date. A good agent will help navigate you through the negotiations of the final terms of the contract.
Due Diligence
When your offer has been accepted by the sellers and contracts have been signed, we move into the Due Diligence period. Due diligence, this is a time where you, as the buyer have the opportunity to completely vet the property you just made an offer on. As a buyer this is your chance to do things such as a home inspection, termite inspection, well water or septic tank and in our market, we check to see if the house is required to have flood insurance. Due diligence is typically 10 to 14 days, but this is something you can negotiate in your offer. Once all of your inspections have been completed and before your due diligence period ends, you will sit down with your agent and discuss what repairs you might request from the seller.
Walk Throughs
The time between the end of your due diligence period and the time to do walkthroughs may be several weeks just depending on your closing date. If you and your agent have negotiated repairs during due diligence, you should do your first walk through about five days prior to closing. This would give you the chance to review the repairs and make sure they meet the terms of the contract. On closing day, most agents would schedule a final walkthrough about one to two hours prior to closing, this would give you and your agent the chance to walk the property and make sure everything is in good working order and there are no surprises once the papers have been signed.
Closing Day
The most exciting day of this process has finally arrived, closing day. Real estate closings in our market here in Georgia are facilitated by a local real estate attorney’s office. Attendees may include you as the buyers, your agent, the sellers, their agent, the local lender or mortgage broker and don’t forget the attorney. So over the course of about 30 to 45 minutes, you’ll sign lots and lots of documents and then they’ll hand you your keys. Congratulations, you own a house.