The One Where They Buy a House (Home Buying Process - Guide)
Pre-Approval
The cornerstone of a successful home purchase is establishing a clear financial plan. This begins by understanding your individual buying power. A mortgage lender can analyze your financial health and provide a pre-approval letter. This document details the estimated loan amount you qualify for, based on your income and credit history. Having a pre-approval letter not only empowers you to focus your search within a realistic price range, but also strengthens your offer in competitive situations by demonstrating your financial preparedness to potential sellers.
Lenders offer various loan options, so working with a trusted lender is crucial to find the best fit for your financial situation.
Finding a Real Estate Agent
Why Partner with a Great Real Estate Agent? The home buying journey can be intricate, but a skilled real estate agent brings invaluable expertise to the table. They act as your trusted advisor, offering objective insights and access to a wider range of properties, many unseen by the public. During negotiations, they fiercely advocate for your interests, ensuring you secure the best possible deal. Perhaps most importantly, their experience saves you valuable time and potentially money by helping you avoid costly mistakes.
Meet: The Wish List Session
Let’s brainstorm your dream home! Our first meeting together as your agent is all about getting to know you and your priorities. We’ll work together to create a wish list that reflects your must-haves and nice-to-haves in a new home.
We’ll break it down: How many bedrooms and bathrooms best suit your lifestyle? Is there a particular size range you’re targeting in terms of square footage? And what kind of neighborhood environment would best match your needs? We’ll consider all these factors to refine your search and find a place that truly feels like home.
Searching for a Home
Jumpstart your dream home search! We’ll curate a personalized collection based on your criteria to get you started. Effortlessly save your favorites, request showings, and collaborate directly with our team in the Compass app to refine your search and find your perfect home.
Our dedicated team works behind the scenes by actively searching for off-market gems that fit your needs, ensuring you don’t miss a hidden treasure. Found “the one”? We’ll handle scheduling a personalized showing tour, so you can experience the property firsthand and make a confident decision.
The Offer
Ready to make an offer? We’ve got your back! We’ll work with you to craft a competitive offer that highlights your strengths as a buyer.
Think of it like this: Your offer is your chance to shine! We’ll walk you through key details: purchase price, closing date, and any specific requests you have. We’ll also discuss contingencies, which act like “escape hatches” in case something unexpected arises.
Once you’re happy, we’ll handle the paperwork. Submitting the offer is like throwing your hat in the ring. The seller can then accept, reject, or come back with a counteroffer. If they counter, we’ll negotiate back and forth until you reach an agreement or decide to walk away.
Negotiation & Contract
After you submit your initial offer, the seller might respond with a counteroffer. That’s where your agent comes in handy! They’ll guide you through negotiation and crafting a counteroffer that reflects your budget and interests.
If your offer is accepted, Congratulations! you’ll be under contract. This means the seller can’t entertain other offers while you move forward with the purchase.
Under Contract: While you’re under contract, there are a few key steps to take before officially closing on the home. If you’re not paying in cash, you’ll need to make an earnest money deposit to show your commitment. This deposit goes towards the down payment on closing day. You’ll also want to secure your mortgage loan during this time.
Inspection
Before you settle on your dream home, a professional home inspection is crucial and will shine a light on potential problems. A licensed inspector will assess the property’s condition, looking for any issues with the structure, systems, or potential issues like leaks, mold or sewage. This way, you can move forward with confidence, knowing exactly what you’re getting. Plus, based on the agreement, we can use the inspection findings to negotiate repairs to address any concerns if needed.
Appraisal
To secure a mortgage loan, banks or lenders typically require and order an appraisal. Think of this as a professional opinion on the home’s true market value. An independent appraiser will take a close look at the property to ensure it’s worth the agreed-upon purchase price.
If the appraisal comes in lower than expected, you may need to renegotiate the price or even walk away from the deal. On the other hand, a solid appraisal value helps move the process smoothly towards closing.
Closing
Home stretch! Here are the last steps before your new chapter begins. Your lender will handle a title search to ensure the property is clear of ownership claims. They’ll also finalize your loan details.
We’ll do a final walkthrough together to confirm any agreed-upon repairs are complete and the home is in the same shape as when you first fell in love with it.
With all conditions met, Your lender will provide a final breakdown of your loan terms, costs, and monthly payments. After signing the paperwork with the title company, you’ll get the keys, and your new adventure can officially begin. Congratulations on your new home!
Finding your ideal home can be a rewarding journey, yet it can also present challenges. Our local expertise empowers you to navigate the process with confidence at each stage.
Moving Checklist
Don’t forget the utilities. You don’t want a sudden power outage one month after your move. Even worse is when it’s your own darn fault. Electric, gas, water, trash, don’t assume they’ll be on and operational when you arrive. Instead, get all your utilities set up ahead of time. Including internet if you would like to have it on when you move in.
Chances are the seller will be turning them off as of the closing date.
If you plan on painting or doing any repairs, it’s easier to do those things before moving your stuff into the house. The last thing you want to do is have to tiptoe around a construction zone after you move in. So, if you want to repaint the home, resand floors, or make any other renovations, do them in advance.
These projects are best done when the house is empty and usually don’t happen once the furniture shows up. Skipping this step now can mean a headache later, when you’re forced to shove furniture into the center of the room just to paint the walls or worse take everything out of the space so you can access those scratched floors to have them redone.
It’s never easier to do a deep clean than when the house is empty. Hire a professional cleaning service to thoroughly clean your home before moving in.
The best gift to yourself is to hire a professional cleaner to give it the once-over before you start to move your personal items in. Yes, it’s an added expense, but moving into a spotless home is guaranteed to make a stressful transition much happier.
As soon as you get the chance, hire a locksmith to change all the locks on your house. Don’t forget the back door or any other points of entry. While we’re certain the seller is trustworthy, you just never know who else might have keys to your new home. Better to be safe than sorry.
Doors aren’t the only locks that need changing: Buyers who use a community mailbox should make sure to have it rekeyed by the local post office, which should cost about $40 or $50. That’s not much at all for peace of mind that no one is digging through your mail.
Swapping in new locks that only you have a key for is an essential safety measure. However, “it can’t be done until after closing
Moving in to a new home is a great time to replace the toilet seats throughout the home before you settle in.
Replace those gross old seats with new ones, you can also opt for bidet seats at this time if that suits your fancy.
Ensure these function properly to protect your new home from fires and other emergencies. Replace any that are malfunctioning or do not work.
If the home already has a security system installed, call the provider to confirm that service is set up. If it is an internet enabled system change the login details to prevent the previous owners from accidentally changing or disarming it.
Get a fire extinguisher for every level of your home, make sure you know how to use it, and plan an escape route in the event of a fire.
Figure out where the electrical circuit breaker panel box and main water shut-off valve are before moving in so you know how to turn the electricity or water off in an emergency. Also, consider labeling your home’s electrical panel if it isn’t already.
Imagine waking up one morning to a leaking washer or broken A/C in your brand-new home. A home warranty covers the cost of repairing many home appliances and basic coverage can be reasonably priced.
If your new home has a homeowners association, contact the HOA to make sure everything is up to date. See if they have a web portal where you can find additional information. You’ll likely need to fill out transfer paperwork so it has a record of the new ownership if this wasn’t done at closing.
Even great HOAs can be a pain at times to deal with, requiring meticulous paperwork and cumbersome restrictions, so make sure you understand the bylaws and neighborhood restrictions of your HOA. You don’t want to get off on the wrong foot with your new neighbors, so full knowledge of how the association works is key.
Make sure no boxes or items are missing or misplaced by the movers before they leave. Personally walk the empty truck before they head out to check for any random small bits that may of been left inside.
Make a list of your belongings. You’ll be grateful for the detailed description of contents stored within the myriad packing boxes that now surround you.
There’s a bonus: A home inventory is worth its weight in gold if you have any sort of accident such as a fire, or a natural disaster leaves your home a wreck and you have to submit to insurance.
All done? Boxes in place, furniture inside? Movers gone? The proper way to celebrate is with takeout and beer, eaten on the floor. Do your research ahead of time so you know what you want to eat, and aren’t left scrambling an hour before the restaurant closes.
Know where the best pizza place or takeout is nearby. When you are crazy busy with moving in, you don’t want to get hangry.
Don’t forget to update your address with the United States Postal Service. (Visit the Official Postal Service Change of Address website.) The postal service charges a $1 fee to verify your identity when changing your address online, so you’ll need a credit or debit card.
Note: The postal service will stop forwarding periodicals to your new address 60 days after you move, so alert magazines and newspapers that you’ve moved.
Work With Antwan
Proving that exceptional service and attention to each and every client is the recipe to success, Antwan’s no-nonsense approach to closing deals, coupled with his extensive network and knowledge of real estate markets, have resulted in success in real estate since 2014.
