Buying a home is unlike any other purchase. There are exacting requirements that should be precisely timed.
Like a well-choreographed dance, consumers should be prepared to step around obstacles and move both painstakingly slowly and quickly all within days. One or two false moves and your Fred Astaire shimmy can quickly become more like the Fred Flintstone Flop.
The best advice to anyone considering a home purchase is to start with knowledge. Understanding the basic steps in the often-complex process is a move that Messrs. Astaire and Flintstone would both agree with.
That’s why I wrote a Buyer’s Guide to help lay out critical steps in the journey. From getting your financial house in order to receiving keys to the new home, I share 30 steps that will become pivotal to a successful experience.
Sure, your real estate professional will guide you through each move and offer options every step of the way. But understanding important moments – such as these 12 steps below – is vital to reducing delays and confusion when timing is critical.
Even before getting serious about the search, there is the question of how to pay for that dream home. Getting your financial house in order can take years and often be challenging. Maybe this Down Payment Countdown will be a handy tool and visual motivator to keep an eye on the prize.
Additional tips: Start playing with the numbers by using a mortgage calculator to understand how much home you may be able to afford. Speak with at least two lenders to bounce one off the other on interest rates and financing options – including, possibly, Down Payment Assistance. Meeting with more than one mortgage consultant will give you a better idea of which one feels like a good fit for you.
Once you have figures on paper and target a home-price ceiling, work with your real estate pro to visit neighborhoods that may match your interests. Maybe you’re visual like me and appreciate tracking the many homes with a Neighborhood Scorecard.
Like many people in the real estate business, I am guilty of sometimes throwing around industry terms to clients. Naturally, one should not be afraid to ask what anything means – terminology, concepts or contract language – just to be clear. This Real Estate Terminology sheet may be a good primer before you get started.
Your team – Realtor®, lender, attorney, financial planner/accountant and home inspector – will all be there to help explain those terms and turns of phrases.
Once you have found your dream home and have the contract provisionally signed (known as “under contract,” “Pending sale” or “mutual acceptance”), you can get started on planning the move. That’s why I produced this guide for Buyers Planning to Move.
Yes, there is a lot to map, track and act! Better to know now so that you can shimmy smoothly across that home-buying dance floor.
Contact me – Will Springer, Realtor® – with your residential real estate questions. I’m here to help, every step of the way!