Are you thinking about purchasing a new home but don’t know what the first step is? Keep reading to find out about the home buying process in our market and your EIGHT simple must-know steps in buying your first or next home!

1. Are you ready to buy?

2. Find out how much home you can afford?

3. Get pre-qualified!

4. Contact me and tell me about your perfect home.

5. Make an offer.

6. $Get a loan approval from the bank$

7. Schedule inspections, concierge service, walk-thru, and closing.

8. Move into your new home!

1. Are you ready to buy?  In our steady market, plan to begin your home search 3-4 months prior to your desired move date to your pre-owned home.  For new construction homes, you should begin searching 6-12 months prior to your desired move date depending on the size of home that you plan to have built.  If you begin your home search too early, there is a good chance that the homes that you view and love will not be available by the time you are ready to buy.  

2. Find out how much home you can afford?  How much house you can afford will depend on several things, including your income, your work history, your credit rating, your recurring debt, the amount you can spend on a down payment, and the interest rate that you are able to secure.  The best way to determine how much home you can afford is to talk with a lender. 

3. Get pre-qualified!  Too many times, buyers put the cart before the horse and end up finding the home of their dreams.  The reality is that if you find the home that you can’t live without, but you don’t have a pre-qualification letter, you cannot make an offer on the home.  When you call the bank, you might not qualify for the home price, or if you do and receive that pre-qualification letter, then someone else might have already bought your dream home.  With this letter, ask for a good-faith estimate. This will outline your estimated closing costs, your mortgage rate and terms, and your estimated monthly payment. I recommend that you talk with three lenders and receive this estimate from all of them to see who can give you the best deal.  

4. Contact me and tell me about your perfect home.  I will listen to you carefully and begin the search for your perfect home immediately.  Within 24 hours, you will receive the first batch of listings that match your needs and your preferences.  New listings that match these needs and preferences will be sent to you daily.  We will then set up a tour to begin the home-viewing process.  I will be happy to look over your good faith estimates at this time, as well, and answer any questions that you might have about them.

5. Make an offer.  Once you have found the home that you can’ live without, we will sit down and write an offer to purchase the property.  With this offer, a pre-qualification letter is needed.  I will submit the letter and offer to the listing agent at that time. If the seller is satisfied with the offer and terms, then you have a contract on your new home!  If the seller is not satisfied, they will present us with a counteroffer.  We will go back and forth until both the seller and you are satisfied with the sale price and terms.  Once the offer is accepted, you have a contract on your new home!  At this time, you will need to provide earnest money to me to be given to the listing agent.  This amount varies, but is typically at least $1,000.  This money is held in the escrow account of the listing agent until the closing.  It is applied towards your closing costs.  All negotiations and tax research will be done by me (within your terms) and without stress to you.

6. $Get a loan approval from the bank$  Call your lender and let them know that you have a contract on your new home!  At this time, they will ask for a lot of paperwork, from W-2 forms to the home contract itself.  Once the lender pre-approves your loan, everything will be sent to an underwriter.  At this time, additional documents might be requested from you.  Once everything is finalized, you will have a loan approval.

7. Schedule inspections, concierge service, walk-thru, and closing.  I will consult with you and schedule all of these appointments with either organizations that you trust or my preferred organizations. You are not required to be present at the home inspection or pest inspection; however, I will be present and it is recommended that you are as well.  You will have to be present at the closing and the walk-thru!

1. A home inspection is something that is a must today.  While it is not required by law that you have an inspection done, it is very wise to have one.  It will cost you between $250-$500 depending on your home size and the age of the home; however, this small price does not compare to the cost of major problems that could arise.  Since your home is one of your largest, if not the largest, investment that you will make in your lifetime, this small price is well worth the dent in your wallet. This inspection is basically a thorough examination of the home and will point out any major and costly defects.

2. A pest inspection will make sure that you don’t have any unwelcome pests greeting you on moving day or a year down the road! NC homes are generally framed by wood, and termites eat wood!  A pest inspection will cost you between $65-$125 and is well worth it! 

3. The walk-thru will be scheduled one or two days before closing, and we will walk through the home to make sure that it is in acceptable condition. 

4. Closing is the meeting where we will sit down at a law firm with the sellers of the home and their agent.  The attorney will distribute the final paperwork for you and the sellers to sign.  Any closing costs due will be collected at that time.  When you walk out of the office, you will have the keys to your new home!

8. Move into your new home!  As you can see, buying a home is a tedious, but exciting process.  Let me take many of the stresses off of your shoulders, from searching for your perfect home, to answering any questions about your good faith estimates, to recommending inspectors and scheduling the inspections, to being with you at the closing table, to…..Let’s just say I’m there with you every step of the way!