Buyers

Equitable Realty

#1 What's the Right Home For You?

Wow the excitement never ends, whether its your first home or the upgrade. Your search for a new home will go more smoothly if you do some advance assessment and decision making. Examine your desires, needs, hopes and dreams. Think about what you want, what you need and what concessions you are willing to make. Determine what type of home will work for your lifestyle and what your parameters are. Define what features are non negotiable and what is open to compromise.

Creating a prioritized list will help guide your search and balance what is available on the market with what you want. A good place to begin is weighing how the following factors impact you and will influence your decision.

Location. The location of your new home is the foremost contributing factor in its pricing. Convenience to schools, town centers, retail areas and recreation, for example, may affect the listing price, as well as supply and demand.
Suburbs, urban or rural. Determine what type of work commute you will have and how much time is involved. Assess traffic patterns and congestion and how it fits into your desired lifestyle.
Schools. Perhaps you are looking to live within a specific school district or close to your childcare provider.
Type of home. Does a single family, condo, townhome or cooperative best suit your needs?
Style. Perhaps you have a specific style in mind. Is it a single story, multistory or split level? How about an older home with character as compared to something brand new and sparkling?
Rooms. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage and bonus rooms is important to consider.
Garage. Do you want an attached, detached, one- or two-car or larger garage?
Special amenities. Determine what upgrades are important to you: fireplace, pool, spa, expanded master suite, library, lower level finished basement or gourmet kitchen to name a few.
Yard. Do you prefer landscaping, decks, patios and perennial flower gardens, something small requiring little work or no yard at all?

Now that you have set your priorities and you have a good idea of what type of home fits your lifestyle, it is time to Equitable Realty for advice and to set a plan to start your search for the perfect home. An experienced, educated agent with extensive market knowledge will successfully guide you through the maze of available options and the specific paperwork needed that will lead to your home purchase.

#2 How Much Home Can You Afford?

Now that you have figured out the type of home that best suits your needs, next you will need to determine what you can afford to buy. Knowing your price range allows you to avoid wasting time looking at homes that do not fit your criteria. If there are more homes available in your area than there are buyers, then you are in a buyers’ market. You may look at homes that are priced slightly higher than your upper limit because there is more room for negotiation with the seller.

Lender Pre-Approval – Contacting lenders for pre-approval and receiving a written letter verifying your top loan amount will help to make your offer more attractive to the seller. You will save time by eliminating from your search homes either above or below your price range. Though you may not want to make an offer at the high end of your approved borrowing amount, you may be able to afford more than you realized.

#3 What If You Already Have A Home?

Buying a new home while selling an existing home, presents additional challenges. Your Equitable Realty Broker can assist you and ensure that the road is as smooth as possible. Being a buyer and a seller at the same time is a balancing act.

Timing the sale of one home while purchasing another can be tricky. What if you’re unable to perfectly time the sale of one house with the purchase of another? You may be in between homes for a period of time and need to find temporary living quarters. Or, you may own two houses at one time. Talk to your agent about developing a back-up plan to avoid last-minute hassles.

Storage – If you are between homes, you will want to look at various options for storage.

Special Financing – While waiting for your home to sell, you may need to finance using a bridge loan, no-ratio loan or a home-equity loan (or a home-equity line of credit).

#4 Making An Offer To Purchase

You have found the home that you can’t live without and are ready to make an offer. You can count on your agent’s expertise again—this time in the art of negotiation.

Your agent will direct you toward at a price that both you and the home’s sellers can agree upon. A formal purchase contract, written by you and your agent and signed by you, will be submitted to the seller for review and consideration. During this step, compromise is vital; you want to arrive at a fair price where everybody is satisfied.

Your Agent will run a Comparative Market Analysis to help you arrive at an offer price based on the condition and features of the home.

#5 How Will You Pay For Your New Home?

Paying Cash for Your Home

Obtain a Mortgage Loan

#6 Getting Your Mortgage

Researching and talking with mortgage companies prior to submitting an application is important. Find out what their loan programs are, requirements for down payment and any fees or incentives available. You are in essence paying the lender for the use of their services—ask questions and make sure you get the answers that you need.

Mortgages may be obtained through a mortgage company, bank or credit union. Appraisal

The lender will order an appraisal to determine the market value of your home. The home must appraise at a certain value and percentage of the loan for you to gain loan approval. Your loan will require private mortgage insurance (PMI) if your down payment is less than twenty percent of the value of your home.

#7 The Home Inspection

Mortgages may be obtained through a mortgage company, bank or credit union. Appraisal

#8 Closing on Your New Home

The day has arrived for the final step in buying your home—the closing. The closing, also known as the settlement or escrow, in simplest terms is when money is taken in from the buyer and paid out to the seller. Ownership is transferred to you. The closing can take place in person or by mail and is handled by the real estate company or a title company.

(919) 369-1356