7 Steps to the Home-Buying Process
December 28, 2015
All the details of the home buying process can become overwhelming and confusing for those who do not have experience in the market. To protect yourself, your investment, and most importantly, your family, many suggest having real estate agents represent you throughout the process.
However, having a general understanding of home buying can give you an even greater upper-hand, supported by the services of trustworthy and honest realtors. These 7 steps will give you insight into what the process entails, and what to expect when venturing into home buying:
1) Determining Your Budget and How Much You Can Afford
The home buying process can bring up a lot of questions. One of the foremost concerns of people is that they don’t know exactly what they can afford, and how they can come to a solid conclusion. There are various factors that go into budgeting, and it’s important to look into all of them. Although with the help of a real estate agent any confusion about budgeting can be cleared some online resources can assist in estimating what a ballpark price might look like. Realtor.com’s Home Affordability Calculator is one tool prospective buyers can use to identify their budget.
2) Pre-Approval is Crucial to the Home Buying Process
After identifying your budgeting boundaries, your next step should be getting a pre-approval for your mortgage. In this step, lenders will take into account a number of things including your income history, credit score, and other things that go into getting a loan for a home. Completing this step will also alleviate any future issues when buying a property.
3) Finding the Proper Real Estate Agents
In order to ensure that you get the best possible deal, and that no details are overlooked, any potential homebuyer should find a realtor to represent them throughout the process. Although there are a lot of options, when interviewing agents, be sure to look out for qualities of trustworthiness, integrity, and devoted to protecting your best interests. These traits are what drive our service, and what our clients feel has differentiated the Borhani Team in our community. With the launch of our site, we want to help spread our service to others who need a friend and ally when looking to buy their new home.
4) Search for Homes and Make Appointments with Those that Fit Your Needs
Research and look around for homes in your desired community that have the amenities and qualifications you are looking for. A quick Google search can bring up an array of properties for sale in or around your ideal location. With the help of real estate agents, this step in the home buying process is made painless and efficient. By telling your agent exactly what you want, they can look in the Multiple Listings Service to identify the ideal home for you. All that is left is for you to see the home, and decide if it lives up to your dreams!
5) Make an Offer (and Maybe a Counter-Offer)
Once you find a place that you know you’ll be able to call home, it’s time to put in the offer for purchase. In this stage, you will provide the buyer with an offer that is under, above, or exactly their asking price, depending on the level of competition for the home. Again, by enlisting the service of experience and knowledgeable agents, this process is made simple and transparent to make sure you get the best possible deal!
6) The Escrow Process
Not to go too in-depth on a topic that will be outlined in an upcoming post, the opening of escrow signals the start finalizing your purchase. Although it can last up to three or four weeks at times, this phase in the home buying process is crucial in securing your investment. Your real estate agent will guide you through getting a home inspection, appraisal, and handling all of the confusing paperwork.
7) Closing Escrow and Moving Into Your New Home
Once all the details of escrow have been thoroughly processed, the next steps become much more exciting. After signing the final paperwork and having your loan funded, you are ready to move in and begin building the foundations of your dreams!
Clearly, the steps above would put any home buyer into an overwhelmed position. Our goal is to protect you and your investment throughout the entire home buying process. We know that when buying a home, you are not just making a purchase, you are putting down roots for you and your family, and we want to make sure you remain secure throughout the whole transaction. Contact us today to see how we can help you find a home worthy of your goals!