BUYING A HOME
Buying a home can be both exciting and rewarding, and possibly one of your biggest nightmares. Here are some tips that may make that home buying experience less stressful...
This is probably the most important step in the process since you and your REALTOR will be partners in what may be the single largest purchase of your life. Trust and faith in this relationship will be paramount. Your REALTOR will be handling any and all issues that come up with your purchase and will protect your interests. He/She should be driven to understand your needs, your wants, at the purchase price you have in mind. Don't settle for just anyone; demand a full-time professional with at least 5 years experience and a documented track record of proven sales experience. Don't be embarrassed or afraid to ask for references. A reputable REALTOR will welcome your concerns. And be sure the REALTOR has full knowledge of the area and communities you're interested in seeing. Don't be embarrassed or afraid to ask for references. A reputable REALTOR will welcome your concerns. And be sure the REALTOR has full knowledge of the area and communities you're interested in seeing. That’s what you will find here.
Now the part you've been waiting for, looking for that dream home! Keep in mind that viewing too many properties in one day may cause them to 'run together' and keeping track of the specifics of each property you have seen can tend to become difficult. Take that list of your specific needs and check off those items as you see them in each property you view. Have your REALTOR provide you with printouts of the properties prior to your inspection. Make notes on those printouts so that you can 'connect' your wants to the specific property for later review. Be sure to tell your REALTOR which properties you liked and which properties you have eliminated.
Once you've narrowed your search down to one or two homes that you really like, you're REALTOR will do whatever research necessary to help you make your decision including preparing a Comparative Market Analysis on that property. This involves determining "fair market value" by looking at what other buyers were willing to pay for properties similar to yours in the same neighborhood or area. In addition, your REALTOR can provide you with School reports, which provide you lots of good information. Buyers are also welcome to call the local Chambers of Commerce for any statistics of interest. Local zoning & planning offices are a good source for finding out what plans are in the works for the community and area.
When making an offer on a property, it is important to decide ahead of time how much you are willing to pay at what terms for the house. You already know what the fair market value is; now you have to decide:
What price will you offer?
How much earnest money deposit you will offer?
What personal property you wish to have conveyed?
How much you are asking the seller to pay towards your closing costs?
When you plan to settle, and
What inspections you plan to have done?
When negotiating with the seller, remember not to take anything personally. Try to put yourself in the seller's shoes and be somewhat reasonable. Figure out what's not negotiable and be willing to give a little on the things that aren't. Your REALTOR should be able to provide you with ample advice as to how to structure your offer. Once your offer has been presented, the seller will accept your offer outright, reject your offer outright, or counter your offer. The counter process can go back and forth many times. It's important for all parties to keep their cool and focus on the goal.
When you present your offer to the seller it is a usual custom to ask for time to be allowed to have inspections done to the property. We cannot express the utmost importance to allow time for home inspections. In doing so, you have written what is called a contingent offer. Offers can be contingent on your loan approval from your lender, property inspections, the receipt of acceptable homeowners or condo association disclosure packets, the sale of property, to name a few. It is important that all deadlines be met and that all contingencies are removed exactly the way the contract specifies. Your REALTOR is responsible for making sure this is done correctly.
Your sales contracts should give you the right to one final inspection prior to settlement. This final inspection offers you a 'last chance' to find any outstanding problems and have the seller correct them. Most contracts read that all electrical and plumbing systems, appliances, heating & air conditioning must be in working order at time of settlement. These are the items you check at walk-through. You are also checking for any other items that the seller previously agreed to fix or replace. If anything is found to be defective or missing, you have several options:
The seller can remedy the problem prior to settlement
The seller can credit you the amount of money it would take to hire someone to remedy the problem
The seller can promise to correct the problem and place into escrow with the attorney, the amount of money you will need to pay someone else if the seller does not perform as promised.
On new home purchases, the process is a little different. The builder will generally do a walk-through with you approximately 1-2 weeks prior to settlement resulting in a "punch-out list". Hopefully, they will get everything on the punch-out list completed prior to settlement. If not, most new homes contracts allow the builder to complete whatever minor items have been noted in a "reasonable" period of time, generally 3 months.
This is commonly known to be the day you "sign your life away"! You will be signing, what seems to be a never-ending stream of papers, including all the loan documentation. The person conducting settlement will be able to explain every document to you as you proceed in this process, in a satisfactory manner. Never feel intimidated! If you don't understand something then...don't sign it. Your REALTOR should be able to explain everything. If you like, you can request blank copies of the documents you will be signing in advance so that you can carefully review them. You will decide at settlement whether your want owner's title coverage or just lender's. You will have to present whatever down payment & closing cost funds you were expected to pay. This check must be certified-- they will generally not accept a personal check.
The last, and probably the most difficult step, in the home buying process! Some pre-planning and forethought can help make for a much smoother move. You should consider making arrangements with a moving company as soon as you can. Obtain at least two to get competitive quotes. They will usually ask to come to your home to get an idea of how much they will be moving and how much distance they will need to travel. Be sure to change your address with the post office, banks and any creditors at least 30 days in advance. To avoid late payments, it's a good idea to actually call and verify receipt of the address change whenever possible. Call to order your utility hook-ups approximately 10 days prior to your move. Be aware, some utility companies may keep you on the phone for a long time.