Buying a home in Northern Virginia just got a lot easier! This step-by-step guide is designed to keep you informed and not surprised as to how the home buying process works. Knowledge is power!
Find a Realtor®
Buying a home in Northern Virginia can be made a lot easier when you hire someone to protect your interest. Make sure the Realtor is a full-time agent and has the experience and education to represent you best.
Get approved
Before you go looking for a home for sale in Northern Virginia area, it's best to consult with a Realtor and then speak with a lender to determine what type of loan will best suit your needs. How are you paying for the property?
Should you not already have someone in mind to help you with your financing, ask me and I can provide you with a list of lenders to choose from. Realtors and lenders survive on relationships and making sure YOU, the clients, are well taken care of! My recommendation is to let the banks compete for your business, so call a few! NOTE: Be prepared to have a printed copy of a Pre-Approval Letter from the Lender stating what amount you're pre-approved for.
Find a home
I serve ALL of Northern Virginia and I have many tools to help you stay informed and on top of all homes that are new to the market. Upon our interview, we will discuss things about your new property that is of utmost importance:
- Approved price range
- Bedrooms
- Baths
- Parking (off-street, garage, secured, etc.)
- Traffic(commute time, proximity to metro)
- Kitchen size
- HOA Fees
- Type of dwelling (single family, townhouse, condo, etc.)
- Do you want to buy a regular sale or short sale?
Once a criteria is determined, I will then set-up a Customized Search with your parameters into the Northern Virginia MLS. Any time a home that is listed comes on the market or is reduced, a notification is sent to you via email. If you like what you see, you can shoot me an email, text or phone call, and I will arrange for us to go see the property. I AM A FULL-TIME REALTOR AND MY HOURS ARE: 10am-11pm, 7 days a week!
BE DECISIVE
As the Northern Virginia Real Estate Market climbs back to sanity, the lack of inventory means that the days on market in NOVA is going to shorten and homes will go quickly. If you see something you like, be prepared to make an offer and to compete with multiple offers. With years of experience of negotiations, I will advise you as to how to have the best chance for winning should there be more than one offer on the table. NOTE: Be prepared to have Earnest Money when making an offer. Typically Earnest Money is 1% of the Offering Price and will be made out to the selling Real Estate Company's Escrow Account until settlement.
UNDER CONTRACT
Once we "haggle" back and forth and have agreed upon terms and a price, we are then under contract. At this point, we will send the Contract to your Lender and proceed to the other parts or contingencies of the contract, like inspections. NOTE: Typically your lender will start asking you for more information to verify your finances and employment, MAKE SURE YOUR EYES ARE CROSSED AND YOUR T's ARE DOTTED!
Home Inspection
One of the biggest "contingencies" is a home inspection. I always recommend getting a home inspection. Keep in mind that this is a home and that things do go wrong. Most of the time, if there are repairs needed then the price reflects the work needed. (Example: House 1 is listed at $300,000 and House 2 is basically the same, except that it needs a new roof and is listed at $285,000) Our goal is to make sure that there is nothing seriously wrong that our eyes can't see. We can always ask the seller to make repairs!
Repair Agreement Negotiations
After we receive a copy of the home inspection report, we will then devise a strategy and prioritize what repairs we would like the sellers to fix, if any. Once we agree on repairs, we release this contingency and proceed with the Contract.
Home Owners Insurance
By now, you should start working on getting insurance for your home. Should you need a referral then just ask!
Hurry Up and Wait!
After we have made it past the home inspection, this part of the process can be 10-15 days (or more depending on your loan type) and you will feel like you should be doing something. This is natural! Rest assured that we are working on getting things to a close and the best you can do is try to keep smiling!
Appraisal
Another big contingency is the banks appraisal. The Northern Virginia Real Estate Market is returning to normal and the banks want to make sure the property they are going to be lending on has accurate value. As long as the house appraises at (or above) purchase price, then we can proceed. If not, then we would renegotiate the difference. NOTE: Once we have a set closing date, I recommend working on getting the utilities changed over into your name. I have a pretty concise list here for Northern Virginia Real Estate (http://www.novanida.com/utilities.html)
Final Walk-Through
Because nothing is final in real estate until you get keys in your hand, I like to do a final walk through on the property to make sure all is intact as it was when you made the offer. I like to do this about 1-hour before closing. 99.9 % of the time all is well but it's best to cover all bases and be thorough!
SETTLE DOWN
Settlement will typically take about 1 hour. It's important to remember to bring your ID to closing (drivers license or passport will be suffice). Also, if you will be bringing money to settlement, it must be in a form of certified funds. NOTE: The Title Company used must be selected at the time of ratifying the Contract. I can refer you to an attorney or you can choose whomever you like. Once a contract is ratified, I or the Lender will send the Contract to the Title Company of your choice
HOME SWEET HOME!
The process of buying a home in Northern Virginia can certainly be an emotional rollercoaster. To be honest, the scenario above is a "walk in the park" compared to some of the homes I have helped others sell or purchase. However, it's my job as your Realtor to try and minimize all things that are we within my control that can go wrong and try and ensure that you get into a home and are happy.
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