Buying a new home can seem like a daunting task. By breaking down the process into steps, and making a plan it can help ease how overwhelming it may seem. To more easily get you on the road to homeownership!
Here are 7 Steps to Buy Your New Home:
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Save for a down payment
The first step to owning your new home should be preparation. Getting in the best financial shape possible before starting your home search will allow your process to go smoother. Most financial advisors recommend you save up at least a 10% to 20% down payment for your new home. Other factors you can begin thinking about include whether you would like to do a 15 year, 20 year, or 30 year mortgage, which have different pros and cons.
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Get pre-approved for a mortgage
Before you start your search, getting pre-approved for a mortgage is an essential step. This lets you know what price range you should be focusing on for your search and also signals to a real estate agent that you are a serious buyer. The pre-approval process can be done by your bank or a recommended mortgage loan officer. Take your time to familiarize yourself with different terms like rates and fees, so that you can factor that in when figuring out what your final budget will be.
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Find a real estate agent
Your real estate agent will be an important part of the home search process. They will find you homes that are a match for your wish list, work with other real estate agents to get home showings set up, and start the offer process when you find your dream home. The Matt Curtis Real Estate team is here to help you with your home buying needs.
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Go look at homes
After you get all of the prep work done to begin your search, you’re ready to go start looking at different homes on the market to find your dream home. The time this process takes can vary depending on the market conditions at the time you’re looking, availability of homes in your price range, and also how quickly homes are selling at the time you’re looking.
Things you may want to consider as you search include schools and amenities in the areas, drive time from places you frequent, and neighborhood covenants that may include certain by-laws or restrictions on the properties. Your real estate agent can help you find out more information about Homeowner’s Associations and their by-laws in the neighborhoods you’re searching in.
Traveling to and from homes that are at the top of your list is a great idea, especially at different times of day to gauge traffic.
Matt Curtis Real Estate has a helpful “drive time” feature on the website, to estimate how far your drive would be from different addresses to locations such as your work, school, or church.
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Submit an offer
After you’ve found your dream home, your real estate agent will walk you through the process of submitting an offer on the home. They will work with the seller’s real estate agent to make sure that all of the proper paperwork is submitted and sent to the right people. The agent will notify you of any counter-offer receive back and work to get the deal to completion on the home.
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Get a home inspection
Once all parties have agreed upon an offer and there’s a deal, it’s time to work on due diligence of making sure the property is in sound condition. A home inspection helps you understand the home’s condition thoroughly and helps bar against unseen costs that go beyond the aesthetics of the home. At Matt Curtis Real Estate, we have a dedicated closing team to assist you with your closing and make sure it goes smoothly.
Our closing coordinators will work with you to get any additional information needed for the closing and get a set time for closing on the property.
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Close on your Dream Home!
You’ve worked together with your real estate agent to find the perfect property, and our closing team has helped you get the deal to completion. When closing day arrives, you’ll need to have any of the cash needed at closing and you or your appointed representative will need to arrive at the set closing time to sign all of the paperwork.
After the closing is complete, you get your new home keys - and congratulations! You’re a homeowner! With the right amount of preparation and planning, you can be confident throughout your home buying process.
If you have more questions about the home buying process, Matt Curtis Real Estate hosts free Home Buyer Classes, to talk you through the process and get any questions you have answered. Contact Matt Curtis Real Estate today at (256) 333-MOVE, to get started down the path to your new dream home!