As promised, here is a quick rundown of the home-buying process. Expect to pay 3-5% of the sales price of your home in closing costs, to include earnest money, appraisal, inspections, and pre-paids (taxes and insurance). Your Realtor may be able to negotiate with the seller to get these expenses paid for you. Expect the first four steps in the following list to take up to a couple months; the last six should take about 30 days.
1. Determine your buying power. Visit a mortgage specialist and get pre-approved. Most sellers will not look at an offer that does not come with a pre-approval letter from a lender.
2. Find a Realtor® you trust. (It’s free.) See post Buyers: Realtor® or no Realtor®?.
3. Work with your Realtor® to select homes you’d like to see. Search MLS, new construction, and FSBOs.
4. Preview homes and fall in love.
5. Work with your Realtor® to construct your offer on the house.
6. Negotiate price, terms, and condition with seller. This is where your Realtor® really earns her money. Only 1 of 21 offers are accepted the way they are first written.
7. Focus on getting to the closing table. Follow the dates in your purchase agreement to schedule the following: home inspection, appraisal, survey, pest inspection, and closing attorney.
8. Purchase homeowner’s insurance on your new home. You must bring proof of payment to the closing table.
9. Notify utility companies to change over or turn on water, power, cable, and phone services.
10. It’s yours! Review the HUD-1 statement with your Realtor prior to meeting with the attorney so you can get a certified check for the amount you need to bring to the closing table.
Your Realtor’s job is to get you the most house for the least amount of money and to make the process smooth and worry-free. If there’s anything I can do to help you, please give me a call: 843.574.3193.
[...] was going to outline the 10 Easy Steps to buying a house here, but if I get any longer than this with my post I’ll probably lose you. To be [...]