Tips To Purchasing Your First Home!
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Being a first time home buyer can be an exciting, yet, scary processes. Hopefully, a few of my tips will be beneficial to aid in the steps. If there is anything that I didn't cover, please feel free to ask with any further questions or concerns.
The first, and probably, the most crucial step is to become pre-qualified. This will allow you to not only see what you can actually purchase, but will save tons of time and effort in the looking stage of homes. Plus, it will keep you from having your heart set on one that may be too over priced. I'd advise to talk to a local bank or credit union. The biggest advantage is a pre-qualification letter, is that it turns you into a cash buyer from the seller's perspective. Making your offer a lot more compelling.
Once you get your qualification letter, that's when you take the next step into talking with an agent and looking for that first home! An agent may ask you to sign a Buyer's Agreement or Buyer's Consultation. Don't be scared, what the purpose of the document is, for your protection. With this agreement in place, the agent has a fiduciary responsibility to put your interests first above all others.
You're finally able to start viewing homes! If you are looking for a certain neighborhood, and you aren't too familiar with the town, you can always call the local police department for a review on the safety of that neighborhood. Agents are not able to give their clients that kind of information.
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With the information gathered at the Buyers Consultation, your agent can narrow down the hundreds of homes available to a small hand-full that actually meet your needs and budget. Looking at too many homes that do not meet your criteria can become frustrating and discouraging. However, having done the Buyer's Consultation firstly, you are prone to viewing all of the necessary homes that you are looking for!
After you have settled on a home, there will be the closing cost, option, and earnest fee. All of these will be negotiated prior to closing. The option fee states an amount that you will give the buyer, that allows you a decided amount of time to allow you to back out of the deal if something comes up. This typically is around $50 or $100 and around 7 to 10 days. The earnest money is what is paid to the title company. And if you wish the seller to pay closing cost, remember that it is not taken out of their pocket, parse, but out of their escrow amount.
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As soon as the contract is signed by both parties, there is about a 30 days to close. In this mean time, you can go ahead remove any and all contingencies. You will be able to conduct the inspections and have any issues resolved, as well as conduct a title search, remove any encumbrances and obtain title insurance. Lastly you can obtain the funds to closing, and close on the home and get ready to have your postal information changed, start packing, and get ready to venture into the world of home owning! I hope this was an easy to understand summarizing of the first time buying processes. If you would like to know more please contact me!
Call Or Email Me Today! 940-704-7058 - TimothyLockhart@kw.com
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