5 Easy Steps to Purchase Your Home
Step 1: PREPARE
Step 3: POST-OFFER TASKS
Step 2: FIND YOUR HOME
- Save up and get your finances in order
- Get a mortgage pre-approval
- Find a real estate agent to work with
Step 2: FIND YOUR HOME
Step 3: POST-OFFER TASKS
Step 2: FIND YOUR HOME
- Tell your agent what you're looking for
- Find homes that interest you and ask your agent to book showings
- Write an offer and negotiate price & terms
Step 3: POST-OFFER TASKS
Step 3: POST-OFFER TASKS
Step 3: POST-OFFER TASKS
- Home Inspection
- Appraisal
- Title Search
Step 4: CLOSING PREP
Step 4: CLOSING PREP
Step 3: POST-OFFER TASKS
- Homeowner's Insurance
- Change Address & Utilities
- Start Packing
Step 5: MOVING IN
Step 4: CLOSING PREP
Step 5: MOVING IN
- Pre-Closing Walkthrough
- Sign Closing Documents
- Welcome Home
Prepare
Additional Information
This is a long form text area designed for your content that you can fill up with as many words as your heart desires. You can write articles, long mission statements, company policies, executive profiles, company awards/distinctions, office locations, shareholder reports, whitepapers, media mentions and other pieces of content that don’t fit into a shorter, more succinct space.
Articles – Good topics for articles include anything related to your company – recent changes to operations, the latest company softball game – or the industry you’re in. General business trends (think national and even international) are great article fodder, too.
Mission statements – You can tell a lot about a company by its mission statement. Don’t have one? Now might be a good time to create one and post it here. A good mission statement tells you what drives a company to do what it does.
Company policies – Are there company policies that are particularly important to your business? Perhaps your unlimited paternity/maternity leave policy has endeared you to employees across the company. This is a good place to talk about that.
Executive profiles – A company is only as strong as its executive leadership. This is a good place to show off who’s occupying the corner offices. Write a nice bio about each executive that includes what they do, how long they’ve been at it, and what got them to where they are.
Find your Home
Tell Your Agent What You're Looking For
As you probably already know, buying a home is not cheap. Not only will you have to save for a downpayment, but you will also have to calculate additional expenses, such as closing costs, due diligence money, earnest money deposit, and moving costs. We recommend you save for a healthy down payment (at least 5-20% of the sale price), plus a sum to cover the extra fees you will incur during the home buying process. Based on all this information, come up with a maximum sale price, you would feel comfortable purchasing.
Find Homes That Interest You & Ask Your Agent to Book Showings
After narrowing down a list of what you're looking for, I will start looking at homes for you in my internal databases and external sources. I also invite you to look for listed properties that look appealing to you and send them to me for further screening. After selecting various properties, you will let me know a convenient date and time to view the homes in person. At that point, I will schedule showings, and we will repeat this process until you have picked a property you would like to call home!
Write an Offer and Negotiate Price & Terms
Once you would like to make an offer on a property, it's essential to act fast!
First, we will sit down and look at the neighborhood's trends and comparable market values. Based on this information and the subject property's features and overall condition, we will determine the price you would like to offer.
Next, I will write an offer based on your directions on the offer price and contingencies. While you may offer what you wish, please keep in mind of the following components that make an offer more appealing to a seller: a strong offer price, a larger earnest money deposit, a shorter inspection period, no financing conditions, and a closing day that is convenient for the seller. To make your offer stand out from the others, I also recommend you write a personalized letter to the seller explaining why you love the home!
Once an offer is submitted, the seller can: accept the offer, decline the offer, or counter-offer.
Post-Offer Tasks
Home Inspection
If you decide to add a home inspection contingency in your offer, you will have a deadline to waive the condition and proceed with the transaction. The typical timeframe to waive this contingency is between 1-7 days of offer signing.
As a buyer, you will have to incur the cost of the home inspection. As it depends on the company and its services, you should expect to pay anywhere from $250-600.
The home inspector is a professional who will do a thorough investigation of the property you want to purchase (this part typically takes around 3-5 hours). Once complete, the inspector will provide a full report of what they found and give you some tips on how to maintain the home should you proceed to purchase it. If any issue are found during the home inspection, you can accept them as-is, or you can try to negotiate with the seller to get the problems fixed or lower the price. In the state of North Carolina, sellers are not required to make any repairs, so it's important that we are careful not to be overly picky about smaller issues. Still, we will also take necessary precautions on potentially significant problems.
Appraisal
Lenders will typically request an appraisal to ensure that the value of the property is justified. Additionally, an appraisal typically helps homebuyers by bringing in a third party to make sure they don't overpay for a home.
Lenders typically hire an appraiser, but buyers incur their fees on closing day.
Title Search
In simple terms, a title is a legal document that identifies the registered owner(s) of a property.
A title search is the process of researching public records to determine a property's legal ownership and find out if there are any claims (such as liens) on that property. A lawyer must complete a title search before closing day, and a clear title must be obtained to transfer ownership.
Closing Prep
Homeowner's Insurance
One of the principal tasks includes getting homeowner's insurance, which protects you against events such as floods, fires, and storm damages. We recommend you start shopping early to compare rates and get the best deal possible.
Change Address & Utilities
Another task you will have to complete before closing is changing all the addresses on your subscriptions, bills, banks, etc. Additionally, a few weeks before closing, you should call all utilities to have your name changed and schedule them to service your new home in time for when you take possession.
Start Packing
While organizing for the big move, you will have to start packing! If you have lots of items to move out, we recommend you start by sorting through all your belongings and donating or selling items that you no longer use. As for things you plan to keep, try dedicating a few minutes or hours every day leading up to move to pack. Additionally, hire a moving company and/or rent a storage unit if you require these services.
Moving In
Pre-Closing Walkthrough
A few hours or a day before closing, we will go to your new home together and make sure that the property is in the same condition (minus minor wear and tear) as the inspection. If there are any significant issues, we can bring it up to the seller's representatives before closing on the property. This allows you to have peace of mind during the move.
Sign Closing Documents
At closing, you will be reviewing and signing many documents to finalize the transaction.
Make sure you bring:
- Valid government-issued ID
- Cashier's cheque to pay for closing costs
- Any outstanding documents requested from your lawyer or lender.
- A rested hand
Both the buyer and the seller will incur closing fees. For the buyer, these fees typically include:
- Underwriting fees
- Escrow fees
- Homeowner's insurance
- Title search/Title insurance fees
- Land transfer taxes
- Lawyer's fees
- Mortgage Application fees
- Appraisal fees
- Homeowner's Association (HOA) or condo fees, if applicable
Welcome Home
Congratulations on the purchase of your new home! It was a lot of hard work, but now you can relax and throw a party to celebrate! Also, if you have any concerns after closing, I am always here to assist you.