How do you buy a house? For first time home buyers it can be a very intimidating process. Not only do you want a great house at a great price, you want to make sure you find great people to help you through it!
Let me show you the ropes of how you should be buying your next home.
Choosing An Agent
As a homebuyer, the most important decision you are going to make happens before you even go to your first open house. Finding a competent and hard working Realtor can mean the difference between your dream home and a nightmare scenario. Over 85% of buyers are represented by a real estate agent because there is no cost to the buyer. Their only job is to look out for your best interests. They will walk you through not only the homes but also the entire home buying process. They can help you figure out the cost of homes in your area, estimates of repairs or upgrades and make sure you are happy with your new home. When you find a property and make an offer your agent will handle your contract and the negotiations so it is important to find someone you trust.
Secure your financing
The second thing you want to do is confirm your financing and get a lender that you can trust. How you finance your deal is going to be extremely important. When you find a property you love you are going to want to move quickly and if you don’t have all your ducks in a row, someone else may snatch it out from under you. You need to have an idea of your down payment and how much owning real estate is going to cost you—before you start looking at homes.
Searching For A Home And Making An Offer
One of your agent’s jobs is to make sure you are happy with the area you are looking. Like the old saying goes, it’s all about location, location, location. There are a lot of things you can change about a home but its address isn’t one of them. Make sure you know about the schools, shopping, and commute times to and from work. When you buy your next house, you are also buying into a community so it’s important that the neighborhood serves your needs.
Closing On Your Home
Once your offer is accepted, you’re under contract but the process is far from over and there is still a lot of work to be done.
Now it is time to do all of your diligence on the property. This is your opportunity to conduct an inspection to confirm the house is sound. You’ll also need to apply for financing, and the transaction will have to go through several facilitating steps. Again, your agent’s job is to stay on top of this for you and make sure everything is in order, so make sure you have found a great one.
Your closing could be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months depending on your contract, but once you get to the closing table that house is all yours! Congratulations on buying your new home!
Of course, there are a lot of details involved in buying a house that we have skipped over but this gives you a brief overview of what you can expect when purchasing a new home. If you have any additional questions or need guidance on something specific, feel free to reach out to me and I’ll be happy to connect with you. I help people just like you buy and invest in real estate every day, and I would love to assist you as well.