Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.
Buying a home is one of the most significant purchases you will likely make in your lifetime. It makes sense to have a real estate professional look out for your best interests. Caroline will help ensure that you get the best possible results – and will make it more likely that you can achieve your desired outcome by providing services and always representing your best interest.
As your buyer’s agent, Caroline is committed soley to you. That ensures your needs and preferences are top priority, offering unbiased advice and support. You and Caroline will work together to make sure your homebuying journey goes as smoothly as possible. Caroline will guide you through each step, ensuring your best interests are paramount.
Getting pre approved for a mortgage is more than just looking at bank statements, tax returns and credit reports. The process is about working together with the loan officer and Caroline to determine a budget that works for you. That doesn’t always mean maximizing the amount the bank says you qualify for. This is a step you want started early on in the home buying process. When you are ready to put an offer on a house, that offer will need to be accompanied by the pre approval when presented.
When going through this budgeting process, be sure to communicate your personal interests you need a separate budget for, like vacations or certain hobbies. That needs to be taken into account to be sure the home price is comfortably for you. Talk to Caroline about what your wants and needs are in a home, like bedroom and bathroom counts, basement, garage, yard size, etc. What areas are you considering? Do you need to be close to main roads? Or, would you like to be located within a village? Communication is key!
My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home
This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). Caroline will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.
Once the perfect home has been selected, Caroline will work with you to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on the listing price and whether the current environment favors buyers or sellers, the offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. She will assist with negotiations in the event of a counteroffer to help reach an agreement. At this point we will move onto the inspection and contract phase.
In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. Caroline can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there are, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be repaired, or you can withdraw it.
Once the inspections are completed, a Memo of Sale is created and sent to the seller’s attorney so they can draw up the contracts. Once they are written, the contracts are sent to your attorney for review. Contracts include several important dates including, mortgage commitment date, closing date and possession date. You will also be writing the first of the down payment checks that will be deposited into the seller’s attorney’s escrow account. When completed, the contracts are returned to the seller’s attorney for the seller to sign.
The fully executed contracts will be forwarded to the loan officer. After being received, you will be asked to submit the necessary documents to initiate the loan disclosures and property appraisal. You’ll work with the loan officer to decide which loan program is best for your needs and budget. Once the loan is approved, you will lock in a rate which will tell you exactly what your monthly payments will be. The mortgage commitment is issued and sent to the attorneys.
You’ve found the house, you’ve obtained the necessary financing, now you’re ready to close! Within 24 hours of closing you and Caroline will complete what’s called a final walkthrough. This is to determine that everything at and in the house is as it was when you signed contracts. At the closing, you’ll sign all the bank documents along with title documents. Depending on what was negotiated in your contract will dictate when you get to take possession of the home. Once you have closed and get the keys, welcome to homeownership!
You are now the owner of a new home! Caroline will continue to be your source for all things real estate. If you need a suggestion for any work to be done, or what to buy next, be sure to call!
Ready to make your next move? Contact Caroline Sweezey today and experience the difference expertise, trust, and results can make!
