Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.
Have you selected a particular neighborhood? Are you seeking a condo, townhome or detached home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? The first step to the home buying process is an in-depth consultation where we will review your likes and dislikes so that our search is efficient and streamlined.
Before you get your heart set on a home, we will work with our preferred mortgage professionals to find out what amount you can qualify for. This is an important part of the process as you will need a pre-approval letter to submit offers on properties. You will need to gather financial documents such as your paystubs, W2s, tax returns and bank statements.
Whether you are purchasing your first home, looking to move up or wanting to downsize, determining your budget is a key part of the process. Of course you will work in conjunction with the mortgage company to secure a pre-approval, but we will also talk through the amount you are comfortable spending each month. Working through your budget can also help determine whether you need to sell your existing home prior to starting a search for your next property or not.
At this point in the process, we will establish our agency relationship so that we can start searching for your perfect home! This written agreement outlines your agent's fiduciary duties to you and ensures that you will have an advocate throughout the home buying process. Fiduciary duty in real estate consists of six parts: obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care.
This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. We will narrow down options and talk through the pros and cons of specific properties, each step getting us closer to your dream home!
Once you have selected the perfect home, we will work together to craft an offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market and the listed property. We will look not only at price, but also each term of the offer and put together a competitive offer that you are comfortable submitting. Negotiating is my favorite part of the business and I will always have your best interests at heart!
Depending on the current market, it may be necessary to do a pre-inspection in order to submit an offer without an inspection contingency. In any case, doing a home inspection is a great opportunity to look for major safety issues or items in disrepair. We may or may not be able to negotiate repair items with the seller at this point, but at the very least you will know what items need attention in the home.
During this time we will work with the lender to finalize your mortgage loan and clear any contingencies. After the loan goes into underwriting it will likely come out with conditions that need to be satisfied prior to closing. Your lender will help you lock your interest rate and review loan terms.
Your lender will have your home appraised to receive an independent valuation. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house. If you have an appraisal contingency, this can be cleared if the appraised value of the home meets contract price.
No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.
It's time to get moving! After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase you are officially a homeowner. Most of the time keys are exchanged at settlement and you can take possession of your new home!
D’Ann Melnick has worked in the real estate industry for more than 20 years and has amassed a renowned class of clientele and unmatched experience.