Buying a home in Alexandria VA can be one of the best feelings in the world. Nothing beats that feeling of security and satisfaction when you open the door to a new home and are happy with your purchase of your own residence. The question is, how can you best ensure that feeling is going to happen? There are a lot of pitfalls in the real estate world and naturally you want to be able to avoid them and end up with a great home. Here are some great tips on how to streamline your home purchase and keep those little headaches from cropping up.
Nesbitt Realty recommends that you spend some time organizing your finances and getting a pre-qualification before making an offer on any property. Not only is the process much more stressful if you don’t know what you can afford; but most sellers won’t consider your offer without some sort of bank letter.
Your lender will pull a credit report and learn whether you have any outstanding issues or problems to take care of. Credit issues can negatively affect your chances of getting a good mortgage and increase the cost of the loan. Therefore, it’s in your best interest to clear any credit issues up before the buying process starts.
Most mortgage companies will offer you a pre-qualification, now this is nice to have but you are better off to take it a step further. Obtain a pre-approval for your mortgage. A pre-qualification means you can probably get a loan if the information you gave was accurate. A pre-approval means that the lender has actually looked at your documentation and is confident that a loan can be made. The pre-approval gives you an absolute number to work with. Not only does this make shopping for a home easier on you, but it gives you a significant amount of leverage in the actual sale.
The next logical step is to begin working with your Realtor on finding homes that suit your needs. Your Realtor will help you organize your thoughts by making a list of priorities. You will want to identify needs, wants and dreams. During this time you can also research the available homes in your chosen area on the Internet and find places that appeal to you. With this ammunition you and you agent should be able to view homes and properties with confidence.
Once you have located the perfect property, it’s time to make an offer. Your agent will help you prepare an offer that you can afford and that you feel meets the value of the property. The Realtor will guide you through the negotiations and if the buyer and seller agree on a price then the home is “under contract”. It will take a few weeks for the bank to prepare your mortgage but it will be a busy time.
During this time you’ll arrange for a home inspection and the lender will call for an appraisal. The inspection is extremely important step in ensuring your protection as the new owner. The appraiser will determine the value of the property to make sure that you haven’t paid too much. Meanwhile your Realtor will arrange for title work to be prepared so that the home is legally in your name.
Lastly comes settlement. At settlement the seller gets money and the buyer gets title. It’s the end of one journey and the start of a new one: home-ownership.
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