How To Have Some Control Over Your Home Buying Experience
If you are new to the home buying experience this blog will be a great help to you. Having a trusted Realtor helping you through this daunting experience will be a great asset to you. Ask your family or frinds to recommend one that did a great job for them.
"Wonderful experience" or "What a Nightmare" is how many people describe the home buying experience. As a Realtor, I've met several individuals and couples who truly did not know, "How to Buy a House". In fact, many people think it's about touring houses first and then doing whatever else is necessary to make the purchase happen. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Here are some steps to follow to make your purchase happen as smooth as possible. Please feel free to write or call me with additional questions.
1. Know your Credit Score - You can do this right now - Follow Link
2. Find a lender and get your Pre-Approval - Here is an Interesting Article about this subject.
3. Find a Realtor - You will need guidance in this process. You will need someone you can trust to prepare paper work, show you houses, supply phone numbers of trusted vendors and work with all contingencies.
4. Use the internet for your Search for Homes. Look for houses ONLY in your price range.
5. Drive by some of the houses you like without your Realtor so as to "fine tune" your search. Perhaps you should park your car and walk the neighborhood.
6. Ask your Realtor to show you some homes - perhaps a tour of six or seven. If you believe you've found the house you are looking for, ask for a second or even a third walk thru.
7. Have your agent assist you in making the offer. Your Realtor will run some comparables for you. These important numbers will assist you in making a good offer to the sellers.
8. Once you have a contract, stay on schedule with all of your contingencies. Remember to write down ALL of your appointments.
9. Expect there to be some bumps and allow your Realtor to absorb them. Real Estate transactions are seldom "smooth sailing". There is almost always a surprise or two, even for an old professional like me.
10. Don't be nervous on the day of your closing. Instead, learn from it and allow it to be an experience to personally grow from.
11. Immediately have your house re-keyed before moving in. I don't care how nice the sellers were, you do not know who might have keys to the house you just bought. Do this before sleeping there even one night. When purchasing a new house, this is often done for you automatically. You should insist on the builder doing this.
Move in and begin making your new house your new HOME.
David L. Burrows, Realtor®
Classic Realty
4200 Evergreen Lane, Suite 331
Annandale, VA 22003
Direct: 703.859.5188
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