First Time Home Buyers Guide
Gain insight into the process of buying a home and learn about preapproval letters, finding the right buyer’s agent, the process of home inspections and appraisals, and the closing table with this “First Time Home Buyers Guide.”
Buying a home for the first time can be a daunting experience. The process isn’t as simple as “let’s buy this one from preapproval letters to home inspections.” There is so much more to getting your first home that many first-time buyers are not prepared for.
Preapproval Letter
The first piece to the home buying puzzle has a preapproval letter. This mostly depends on whether you plan on using a loan to buy the house. This letter shows that the lender will likely give you a loan and a rough estimate of what they can loan to you.
One of the reasons to secure a preapproval letter is to ensure that the buyers can purchase the homes they are looking for. This helps not to get anyone’s hopes up. It would be a crushing experience to tour a home, find out it is a dream home, but then find out the funds to secure it are out of reach.
Getting a Preapproval letter
When buyers search for preapproval letters, they typically come from a mortgage lender or bank. To obtain a preapproval letter, the lending company will run a credit score, look at job history, and may ask for other key documents to confirm a buyer’s income. This is one step of the home buying process but is relatively quick to obtain.
Finding an Agent
If the buyer has a preapproval letter, it is time to find a real estate agent, typically known as a buyer’s agent. This is the person that will be representing the buyer for the transaction as well as helping to negotiate the real estate deal. There are many online portals to finding an agent, such as Zillow or Realtor. An alternative to finding an agent online is to ask a friend who recently purchased a house or to search local real estate offices.
A good working relationship with your agent is essential, and ensuring that you click well with them during the initial meeting will do wonders for the home search. The buyer’s agent is there to help you find properties in a buyer’s price range and tour those properties with the buyer as well.
Home Inspections & Appraisals
Now that a buyer has found their perfect home, it is time for the home inspection. This is a process in which an unbiased third party will come out to the property and view it. This will ensure the property is up to the buyer’s standards and provide no significant repairs that need to be made.
If the home inspection comes back with any issues, then the buyers can negotiate to have them repaired. If the seller doesn’t fix the problem, they may lower the price of the home by the estimated repair price. This gives the buyer some leverage and is one of the reasons to always ask for a home inspection contingency.
Appraisals
If the home inspection comes back without a hitch, you can proceed with negotiations, and the lending company will request an appraisal. An appraisal will determine how much the home is worth. This helps the buyer and lender know if a home is being listed for too much, or even better if it is being listed under the value it should be.
Closing on the Home
Now that we have gone through all the stages of the home buying process from start to finish, it is time to close on the home. This will typically be done at a third-party site through a title company. The title company will get all the legal documents in order, and the buyers and sellers will fill them out to ensure a smooth process. One small note: typically, the lending company will find the title company, so you as the buyer do not need to worry about this.
Typically the listing and buying agents will be there to help support their clients if needed. In addition, the title company will have a notary to assist and facilitate the document signing process. The process is far longer for buyers than sellers, but the excitement of buying a first home tends to make the process go by quickly.
Home Buyers Guide Final Tips
Do not be afraid to ask the agent any questions that may be looming on your mind. They are there to assist the buyer and are professionals anything that the buyer is unsure of should be brought to the attention of the buyer’s agent as soon as possible.
Now, Are You Moving and Need a Reputable Moving Company?
We hope you have gained valuable knowledge about purchasing your first home with our “First Time Home Buyers Guide.”
So what happens after you have taken all the required steps to purchase your first home and have currently closed, is it time to take another action?
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