Buying a home is often the largest and most emotional investment many people will make in their lifetime. Owning a home is a great financial investment that can lead to equity build up, tax write offs, value appreciation, a long term savings plan and a sense of pride that comes with home ownership. In todays competitive Real Estate market it is important for Buyers to have every edge possible when looking for a home.
- Secure Financing – A good lender can often determine how painful or painless a transaction will be. Experienced lenders should have your loan ready to close within 20 to 30 days after an executed contract. In todays competitive market it is very important to be pre-approved so that you are ready to make an offer if you see something that you like. Ask your Renee Mears REALTOR® for a list of preferred lenders.
- Find Your Home – A Renee Mears REALTOR® will help you more accurately pinpoint homes that fit your criteria and will set up an alert so that you are notified as soon as a property becomes available. You will also have additional tools available with your home search on ReneeMears.com such as: interactive maps, information on specific communities/subdivisions, photos and videos, school information, lifestyle information, demographics, info about surrounding businesses, home value estimators and mortgage calculators. Your home search should take anywhere between 7-30 days based on available listing inventory.
- Make an Offer/Execute Contract – Your Renee Mears REALTOR® will give you information on other properties in the neighborhood to ensure that you make the right investment. Your REALTOR® will explain the contract and help guide you through every step of the process. Once both parties have agreed to the terms of the offer and both parties have signed off on the final contract it will be officially executed on that day. If you are already pre-approved with an experienced lender the process from execution to closing should take 20-30 days.
- Due Diligence/Inspections – Your REALTOR® will provide you with suggested improvements and possible challenges within your home and will suggest having a general inspection. This is normally performed within the first 5-10 days after execution. Click here for a list of preferred general inspectors. Your main concern will be the structural integrity (foundation), roof, electric, plumbing and sewage. Very often a problem can appear big but can be fixed with very little effort and not a huge budget. During this period you will also receive disclosures from the Seller, information on the homeowners association, property survey, title commitment and the home appraisal. The appraisal will be ordered by your lender and the Seller will be responsible for delivering to you the other information above. Your Renee Mears REALTOR® will be following up to make sure everything has been received.
- Final Financing Approval – It is important to keep in touch with your financial consultant daily to make sure they have received all of the necessary documents and signatures required for final approval. Once everything has been reviewed by the financial underwriter a clear to close will be given and the Closing Disclosure will be released. Your REALTOR® will review the closing disclosure to make sure that everything looks correct.
- Closing – At closing, the Buyer(s) will sign all necessary closing documents required by the lender. Once the lender has reviewed to make sure everything looks correct they will release the funds for the loan and you will receive the keys (unless otherwise agreed).