Buyers Guide

Mortgage pre-approval should be completed even before you start looking at homes. Getting pre-approved will confirm that you qualify for the financing you need to purchase a home. It will also tell you how much money you can borrow, which will help you keep your home search in the correct budget range.

Getting pre-approved also shows sellers that you’re a qualified buyer. When you’re ready to make an offer on a home, your pre-qualification will assure the sellers that you can get the funding needed to close the deal. So the sellers will be much more likely to consider your offer.

Now comes the fun part: looking at homes!
Here are a few house-hunting tips to make the process enjoyable and effective:

• Make a list of things you need in your new home and a separate list of wants. This will help you focus on homes that could work best for you.
• Set a budget you’re comfortable with. You don’t need to borrow every dollar the lender is willing to loan you.
• Get yourself a real estate agent right away. In most cases, the seller pays all the real estate agent fees, meaning that you typically don’t have to pay for a buyer’s agent! Real estate agents often learn of new listings before they even hit the market, so having an agent in your corner can give you a head start over other buyers.
• Take advantage of online resources. In addition to listing photos and property descriptions, many listings also offer floorplans and virtual tours. As licensed real estate professionals, we can show you any home in our local market. So please reach out when you’re ready to start touring properties!

Once the seller accepts your offer, we are officially under contract. At this point, you will pay an earnest money deposit to reserve your interest in the house. This money is needed because there is typically a 30-60 day window between going under contract and officially closing the transaction, and the sellers need some assurance that the buyers won’t back out of the deal without legal cause.

There are legitimate reasons you can back out of the sale during the contract period, including:

• The home inspection comes back with severe unexpected issues.
• The house does not appraise at a high enough value.
• Your financing falls through.

Your contract will most likely include contingencies for these situations, which allow you to terminate the contract and get your earnest money back. But, the goal is to clear all contingencies and have your earnest money put toward your down payment.

The Home Inspection

A home inspection is when a certified home inspector physically visits the property and evaluations the condition of the home. The inspector will write up a detailed report outlining every visible defect or potential issue.

Most buyers are overwhelmed at the number of recommended repairs in a home inspection. Keep two things in mind:

• The inspector’s job is to call attention to all visible issues, no matter how minor. In the interest of limiting their own liability, they need to note every little thing.
• Most of the “issues” on your inspection report probably won’t need to be addressed at all. They’re just noted for your information so you have a complete picture of the condition of the property. Some of the recommendations will need to be addressed at a future date, potentially years down the road. Generally, there are only a few items that need to be addressed immediately.

As your real estate agent, we can review the inspection with you. If there are serious issues that need to be addressed, we might consider re-opening the negotiations to ask the seller to make some repairs or to reduce the price to account for the repairs that are needed.

All through the contract period, your lender will be working on underwriting your home loan. Your job is to provide your lender with the financial documents they need to do their job (typically updated versions of the same documents you used for your pre approval).

Underwriters triple-check every detail, so you might need to answer questions about large deposits or large withdrawals from your accounts. And your employer will likely receive multiple phone calls through the contract period to make sure you’re still in your current position.

Throughout the contract period, you’ll receive many documents to be signed including various disclosures, contingency removal forms, and your loan docs. Many of these docs just need a quick electronic signature. But some of these documents will need to be notarized. We’ll help you arrange the notary, and he or she will witness your signatures for those documents.