New Year New House??
With a new year comes lots of goals, hopes, dreams, and resolutions…right? I know that’s typically the case for us. Whether we always follow through with each of them is neither here nor there ;)
One goal/dream/resolution I can get behind AND help you out with is buying a new home! For many people that doesn’t seem realistic or attainable but I’m here to tell you it is! Whether you are a first time home buyer or just looking for a change, we can make it happen. Sometimes the process can be longer than you expect, but in the end, you will reach your dream.
We put together a list of 5 important things/steps you should know on your journey to buying your new house.
MAKE A PLAN.
Stick with that plan. Not to say there can’t and won’t be some changes and adjustments, but having a plan in place will save a lot of time and stress. Sit down and think about WHY you’re ready to buy and WHAT you most want from this new home. Is it an upgrade? Is it a downsize? New location? Better schools? Needs have changed? More functional layout? Bigger yard? Bigger garage? Less maintenance? Once you have an idea of those things you can focus in on what fits in those parameters.
GET YOUR FINANCES IN ORDER.
Reach out to a local lender or bank (we have a few we highly recommend) and sit down to discuss your options. What is realistically, and comfortably, in your budget? Do you have some work to do to get your credit where it needs to be in order to purchase a home? Let them lay out what steps you need to take to get there and what kind of time frame you can expect to do it in. Have them show you a few different scenarios as far as sales price and your payment. What looks and feels the best? Finally, be sure to get your PRE-APPROVAL! This is so important, especially in today’s market! You cannot expect to get an accepted offer on any house without one of these.
FIND YOUR TRUSTED REALTOR.
If you haven’t contacted us already, now is the time! :) We’ll sit down with you and discuss your MUST HAVE list and your ABSOLUTELY NOT list. Once we have a better feel for who you are and what you want, we can start compiling houses that would work for you. Then comes the fun part… Touring your potential new home!
BE PREPARED.
The housing market is HOT right now! West Michigan is booming and everybody wants to be here. Who can blame them?! This isn’t a bad thing, it just means we may have to have a little more patience. Know that when you find THE ONE we have to act fast! Houses are selling quick and often times in multiple offer situations. Which means they receive offers from more than one buyer. This is where that pre-approval definitely comes in handy! When we write up our offer we attach that pre-approval and that shows the sellers agent and the sellers that not only are you serious but you CAN and WILL be able to get a mortgage for this home. If we do find ourselves in a multiple offer situation we are usually asked to send them our “highest and best”. Meaning the best offer we have at the highest price you are comfortable at. And then we wait. We are typically given an answer or a counter offer within 12-24 hours.
THE ROAD TO CLOSING.
Once we have an accepted offer on a house we will schedule our inspections. We have a few trusted inspectors who will come out to look through the house, top to bottom, and give us a report on their findings. I like to compare this to a report card. Their job is to find any and all “issues”, big or small. Which is good! We typically want to focus on the big issues. The things we didn’t see or realize and that could potentially be a hazard and/or end up costing you way more money than expected. Once we are through inspections the lender and title company will handle most things. Your lender will schedule an appraisal of the property. Whichever house you end up with, it must appraise for AT LEAST the sales price agreed upon. A bank/lender will not give a mortgage on a property that is worth less than what the mortgage is for. If we were to come in at a low appraisal we would then negotiate with the sellers on the price. Barring any other unforeseen things popping up, your Clear to Close will come next and then we schedule the closing date! The exciting part. We will sit with you at the title company and go through the signing of all the documents. Once that’s done you are officially a new/first time HOMEOWNER!!
