Purchasing a property is most likely the biggest financial decision you will ever make. Whether this is your first purchase or you are an experienced buyer, this decision must be made carefully
Check Your Credit
Your credit score will have a huge impact on what type of property you can buy, and at what price. It is first recommended to check your credit rating with an experienced lending institution so that we can determine how much you can afford to pay for a home. We will be happy to recommend experienced, knowledgeable lenders in the residential, construction, and commercial and investment real estate fields.
List of Needs & Wants
Prepare 2 lists. The first should include items you must have (i.e., the number of bedrooms you need for the size of your family, a one-story house if accessibility is a factor, etc.). The second list is your wishes, things you would like to have (pool, den, etc.) but that are not absolutely necessary. Realistically for first-time buyers, you probably will not get everything on your wish list, but it will keep you on track for what you are looking for.
Pre-Approval
While knowing how much you can afford is the first step, sellers will be much more receptive to potential buyers who have been pre-approved. With Pre-Approval, the buyer actually applies for a mortgage and receives a commitment in writing from a lender. This way, assuming the home you’re interested in is at or under the amount you are pre-qualified for, the seller knows immediately that you are a serious buyer for that property.
Representation by a Professional
Consider hiring your own real estate agent, one who is working for you, the buyer, not the seller.
TIME TO GO SHOPPING
Once those preparations are out of the way, it is time to find the right property for you.
Take a Drive
Get to know the neighborhoods, complexes, or subdivisions, which interest you. Drive around and get a feel for what it would be like to own a property in the area. Start getting a sense of the properties available in those areas.
Maximize Your Home Search Efforts
To maximize your home search efforts select properties that are of interest to you, to include:
- Keeping handy the items that will assist you in maximizing your home.
- A file of the properties that your agent has shown to you, along with ads you have cut out from the newspaper.
- Paper and pen, for taking notes as you search.
- Instant or video camera to help refresh your memory on individual properties, especially if you are attending a series of showings.
- Location: Look at a potential property as if you are the seller. Would a prospective buyer find it attractive based on school district, crime rate, proximity to positive (shopping, parks, freeway access) and negative (abandoned properties, garbage dump, the source of noise) features of the area?
Time to Buy
Visualize the house empty & with your decor
Are the rooms laid out to fit your needs? Is there enough light?
Be Objective
Instead of thinking with your heart when you find a home, think with your head. Does this home really meet your needs? There are many houses on the market, so don’t make a hurried decision that you may regret later.
Be Thorough
A few extra dollars well spent now may save you big expenses in the long run. Don’t forget such essentials as:
- Transcribe all verbal agreements including counter-offers and addendums and to convert them into written agreements to be signed by both parties.
- Include inspection & mortgage contingencies in your written offer.
- Stick to the schedule. Meeting the requirements on time ensures a smoother flow of negotiations so that each party involved is not in breach of their agreements.
- Have the property inspected by a professional inspector.
- Consult an attorney or tax advisor on the best way to hold the title. Different methods of holding title have different legal, estate and tax implications, especially when selling or upon the death of the title holder.
- Request a second walk-through to take place within 24 hours of closing.
- You want to check to see that no changes have been made that were not agreed on (i.e., a nice chandelier that you assumed came with the sale having been replaced by a cheap ceiling light).
Time to Move In
Closing Day
If you have come this far, then this means that it is almost time for congratulations.
Home Services and Utilities
A list of useful numbers will be provided to activate all your home services and utilities after the closing occurs.
Closing
- The Closing agent will furnish all parties involved with a settlement statement, which summarizes and details the financial transactions enacted in the process. You and the seller(s) will sign this statement, as well as the closing agent, certifying its accuracy.
- If you are obtaining financing, you will have to sign all pertinent documentation required by the lending institution.
- If you are unable to attend the scheduled closing, arrangements can be made depending on the circumstances and the notice that we receive.
- If you are bringing funds to the transaction, you can elect to either have the funds wired electronically into the closing agent’s escrow account or bring a certified bank check to the closing in the amount specified on the settlement statement.
- The seller should arrange to have all property keys and any other important information for you at the closing so that you may receive these items at this time.
