Anita Patel
Credentials: ABR, SRS
Specialties: Residential Real Estate
Experience: 5+ Yrs.
Licenses: Real Estate
Memberships: NAR Phone: 404-419-6161 Ext # 4
Email: Realtor@AxisFinancial.US
Whether you are a first-time buyer or a repeat buyer, knowing the basics of home-buying can take the stress out of the process and help you plan for each step ahead of time.
Find a local real estate agent
A good real estate agent can help you not only find your dream home, but also wade through the maze of pre-approval, offer, inspection, negotiation, financing, appraisal, closing, and all the related paperwork. Their knowledge of the home buying process, negotiating skills, and familiarity with the area you want to live in can be extremely valuable. And best of all, it doesn’t cost the buyer anything to use an agent – they’re compensated from the commission paid by the seller of the house.
Get pre-approved for a mortgage
Contact a mortgage broker or a lender to get pre-approved for a mortgage. Your real estate agent may be able to recommend a good mortgage broker or lender for your situation. To get pre-approved, you will need to provide financial information to your mortgage broker or lender, such as your income and the amount of savings and investments you have. They will review this information and tell you the amount of mortgage you qualify for. This should tell you your home affordability and the price range of the homes you should be looking at.
Find a home
Start touring homes with the features you like and need in the area of your choice. Your real estate agent can help you in your search for a dream home by setting you up for a daily search alert in their system, scheduling an appointment and accompanying you for the site visits, explaining pros and cons of a particular house, helping you understand Seller’s Disclosure statement, etc.
Write an offer
Once you’ve found the right home, it’s time to write an offer. Do some research to see how long the home has been on the market, what the owner paid for the property, and recent home sales for the area. All offers and negotiations must be in writing. You will need to specify in your offer items such as who will pay closing costs, proposed closing date (usually 30-45 days from agreement date), a time period for inspecting the home, appraisal contingency, and finance contingency.
Inspect the house
Make sure the home inspection is done within the time period specified in the offer. Your real estate agent usually will help you arrange to have this inspection conducted within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller. During the home inspection, the condition of the house is closely scrutinized, any existing defects and potential problems are noted, and recommendations for repair, if any, are made.
Negotiate repairs
If the inspection turns up problems not listed on the Seller’s Disclosure statement which will cost a lot to fix, try to get the seller to lower the price or fix the problems before closing the sale – or walk away from the deal if your contract allows that and that’s what you want. This is a second round of negotiations for the home. Use your real estate agent’s expertise in negotiating repairs with the seller.
Secure your mortgage
Work with a mortgage broker or a lender to secure a mortgage best suited for your needs at the most competitive rate. Do not hesitate to ask questions about all fees – why they’re charged, how they’re calculated and whether they are negotiable. Your loan provider will arrange for a home appraisal to get an independent estimate of the value of the house you are buying, and for a title search to make sure the seller is the rightful owner of the house you are buying.
Closing
For closing, you go to the office that is handling the closing (a title company or an attorney, usually selected by the lender or the seller) and sign all the paperwork required to complete the purchase, including your loan documents. It typically takes a couple of days for your loan to be funded after the paperwork is returned to the lender. Once the check is delivered to the seller, you are ready to move into your new home!