Buying a Home Should Not Be a Process You Fear! Part 3

As you can see, the buying process can be lengthy, but it shouldn’t be completely stressful and make you wish you hadn’t ever thought about buying a home. 

The best advice I could give is hire a friendly, professional, likable real estate agent.  Your agent is there to work for YOU!!  You all should be talking a lot to each other during this process so your agent needs to be readily available to speak with you and answer any questions or concerns you may have. 

In this series, I have given an overview of the buying process.  Your realtor should be familiar with the entire process and will help you out every step of the way.  I hope this helps to ease your mind of the home buying process.

Know anyone in East Tennessee interested in buying a home?  I’d love to speak with them!  Have them give me call or forward them to Catherine Moody with Hammontree Real Estate.

Catherine Moody with Hammontree Real Estate

865-599-8780 or 865-579-3868

cmoodyhomes@live.com

Buying a Home Should Not Be a Process You Fear! Part 2

Step 6 - Your Offer was Accepted, Countered, or Rejected

Accepted – Wonderful!  The sellers agreed to all of your terms that were presented in the offer to purchase.  Your agent may have a couple of miscellaneous forms you will need to fill out and then you can start the inspection period.

Countered – Don’t get discouraged.  In today’s economy and real estate market, it is common to see buyers and sellers counter offers.  Maybe the sellers can’t afford to lower the purchase price and pay all of your closing costs.  There are a lot of “maybes” out there.  At this point, it’s best to meet with your agent, discuss the original offer and the seller’s counter offer.  How big is the difference between the two?  Your agent should be able to assist you with your continued negotiations and your will hopefully have an acceptance very soon!

Rejected – Okay, it’s time to reevaluate your first offer.  Was the purchase price way too low?  Did you have too many special stipulations written in?  Speak with your agent and decide what you have to ask for in your offer and where you may need to remove some of the extra wants.

Step 7 – The Inspection and Resolution Period

In the original offer to purchase contract, your agent probably asked for a 10-14 day inspection period.  This time frame takes place once there is an accepted offer and the agents have placed a Binding Agreement Date (BAD) on the contract.  (From this point, all time frames are set from the BAD.)

During the Inspection Period, you are allowed to execute any and all inspections that you feel necessary, but they can only take place during this period.  Most inspections include a Home Inspection and Wood Destroying Insect Inspection (Termite Inspection).  Every situation is different, but some buyers may also want a septic inspection, a radon gas inspection, or for older homes – a lead base paint inspection.

It is a good idea to hire licensed professionals in each specific field – they are state licensed and insured for all of their work. 

After each inspection, you should receive a report regarding the inspectors’ findings.  Review these thoroughly and ask questions.  If there is an issue you can’t afford to fix or feel that the sellers should have to resolve it at their cost, you may address this during the Resolution Period. 

For Example – The pest control specialist found evidence of termites, you can ask for the sellers to treat this problem before closing.  Or the home inspector indicated that the concrete blocks in the crawl space appeared to be damp, you can ask the sellers to have the blocks sealed before closing.  Or you can also negotiate to a lower purchase price due to the inspectors’ findings.  Your real estate agent will be able to assist in any negotiations or requests on your behalf.

Step 8 – Preparing to Close

At this point, you have an accepted offer to purchase, completed all of your inspections, requested for repairs to be made (if any), and you are now waiting on your closing date.  During this time, it is a good idea to speak with your mortgage lender and real estate agent 1-2 times a week to just check on everyone’s progress.  They may not have any new news for you if you talk to them multiple times a week, but they should let you know that everything is on track.   Your mortgage lender may ask you to obtain home insurance quotes before they finalize all of your paperwork. 

There are also several things you should NOT do during this time:

·         Do Not apply for any new financing – car, credit card, new furniture, etc.

·         Do Not change your marital status

·         Do Not change jobs

·         Do Not change financial institutions or “move money around”

·         Do Not pay off any existing debts – pay all bills like you normally would unless your lender has advised you to pay something off

Your mortgage lender will have to review your credit history again right before closing.  If there is anything new reporting, this can change your qualification status and worst case scenario, not allow you to obtain a mortgage loan. 

Step 9 – Closing!

You have made it to the closing table.  It’s now time to stretch your fingers and grab that blue pen.  After signing your name 50 million times, you are a home owner.  Congratulations!!!!

Check out Buying a Home Should Not Be a Process You Fear! - part 3.

Know anyone in East Tennessee interested in buying a home?  I’d love to speak with them!  Have them give me call or forward them to Catherine Moody with Hammontree Real Estate.

Catherine Moody with Hammontree Real Estate

865-599-8780 or 865-579-3868

cmoodyhomes@live.com

Buying a Home Should Not Be a Process You Fear! Part 1

Is buying a home stressful?  Yes  

 Should you not buy a home because you fear the whole process?  No 

Buying a home is probably one of the biggest purchases you will make in your life.  You will make a lot of decisions in what may feel like a very short period of time - what loan program do I want, how much money do I want to put down,  do I want a 2-story home or a basement rancher - and you may also double guess yourself from time to time.  The best thing you can do is just try to relax and hire a very good real estate agent.

There is a whole process you will go through when purchasing a home.  In my opinion step 1 and step 2 are interchangeable. 

Step 1 - Hire a Licensed Real Estate Agent

Talk to your friends and family, ask them what realtor they used in their last purchase.  Were they satisfied with the assistance they received from their agent?  Was their realtor available to talk to them whenever necessary and were they present for every step of the buying process?

You can even go online and read personal reviews given by past or current clients.

Once you have decided which agent you want to work with, it’s a good idea to meet with them again.  In this meeting, your agent will probably have a couple of documents they will need to get your signature on.  This is very normal.

Step 2 – Talk to a Mortgage Lender and Get Pre-Qualified

Your real estate agent may be able to recommend a licensed mortgage lender they have worked with, but also check with your personal financial institution and talk to your peers.

It is very important to talk with a few different mortgage lenders before you decide with whom you want to work.  Lenders should be willing to discuss their rates and different loan programs with you before they receive a lot of your personal information.  To get pre-qualified, the lender will need to pull your credit history.

DO NOT LET EVERY LENDER PRE-QUALIFY YOU – PULL YOUR CREDIT! 

When your personal credit is reviewed – by a lender, bank, car dealership, credit card company, etc – this can hinder your credit score.  Technically, when you are applying for a home loan and a mortgage lender checks your credit, this is not supposed to hurt your score in any way.  However, I always play on the safe side and suggest that no more than two lenders review your credit history. 

Step 3 – Meet with Your Real Estate Agent and Start House Hunting

Once you are pre-qualified for a loan, you are ready to start looking for your new home.  The pre-qual will show your loan program and the price range that your agent needs to stay in.

Have a sit down meeting with your agent and get to know each other a little bit better.  This person is going to be spending a lot of time with you in the next couple of months and you all do want to build a good professional relationship. 

Discuss what you are looking for in a new home – number of bedrooms, bathrooms, do you have a minimum square feet you want to stay above, what about a garage or fenced back yard, location, move in ready or maybe a fixer upper?  The agent will probably take a lot of notes and do what they need to do to start searching for your new home. 

Step 4 – Schedule Showings

By now, your realtor has sent over listings that match your search criteria, but it is time to start scheduling appointments to actually go see the homes.  Always keep in mind that the photographs from the listing sheet may not do the home justice – in both positive and negative ways.  Of course, your agent will not want you to settle for a home, but don’t be so fast to judge a home either.  Keep an open mind when viewing the property.  Wall colors can easily be changed, original hardwood floors can be sanded and stained for cheap, smaller doesn't always have to equal cramped.

If the home is a possibility in your mind, write out a pros and cons list while you are walking through each room.  It’s better to write these types of things down while you are still there because everything is still fresh on your mind.  While looking at other homes, you will realize how you forget about the little things in each property.  It’s also best to not see more than 4 or 5 houses in a day. 

Step 5 – Make an Offer

Congratulations!  You have found the house that you love and are ready to make it your new home.

Together, you and your agent will decide on a decent purchase price and any other special stipulations that you may require.  Once all of the correct paperwork is finished, your agent will formally present your offer to the listing agent.  It’s now time to be patient.

Check out my “Part 2” of Buying a Home Should Not Be a Process You Fear! 

Know anyone in East Tennessee interested in buying a home?  I’d love to speak with them!  Have them give me call or forward them to Catherine Moody with Hammontree Real Estate.

Catherine Moody with Hammontree Real Estate

865-599-8780 or 865-579-3868

cmoodyhomes@live.com