There are many types of buyers – from first time home buyers to empty nesters looking to downsize. While the circumstances are different the goals are the same:
- find the right home in the right place that matches your lifestyle
- buy the home at the lowest possible price
LIFESTYLES has the knowledge and experience needed to get you into the right home; one that not only matches your lifestyle, but is a good investment for future equity. We will aggressively negotiate on your behalf to make sure you pay the lowest possible price and work closely with you during the home inspection process.
We will make the buying process go smoothly, from start to finish. This is accomplished with good communications, a good understanding of the buying process, and the experienced guidance and counsel we will provide during the entire buying process.
Understanding the buying process
As you can see from the chart – there are many steps involved when buying a home. Furthermore, there are many parties involved: buyer, seller, mortgage broker, realtor, home inspector, appraiser and a closing company. It’s important that you have representation who’s knowledgeable of the process from start to finish. Your LIFESTYES realtor will guide you through the entire process, making sure you understand every step along the way, and acting on your behalf during negotiations.
Your LIFESTYLES realtor will make sure you find the right home at the right price by communicating, paying attention to detail and with skillful negotiations. Look for details about this and other parts of the buying process in the notes following the chart.
Meet with a realtor
Before meeting with your realtor spend some time thinking about what you want or need in a home; things like location, number of bedrooms & bathrooms, garage spaces, price, timeline for purchase. Buyers will often have to make compromises – be prepared to prioritize your list. Review the buying process; if you have any questions about it – ask your realtor. The buying process can be long and you will be communicating frequently with your realtor. It is important that you feel comfortable working with your realtor – communications are key.
There are tools on our Resources page that can help you prepare for this meeting.
Get pre-approved
When you start looking at houses, you will want to focus on homes in your price range. Work with a mortgage broker and get pre-approved; this lets sellers know your offer is legitimate. Ask your mortgage broker to explain how mortgage insurance (PMI) might affect the loan amount you are approved for, many of the online mortgage calculators do not factor this in. LIFESTYLES highly recommends AJ Kozlak , please check his website out.
Also, see our Resources page for info about mortgage insurance and a mortgage calculator that factors in mortgage insurance.
Find a home
Work with your realtor to find a home that meets as many of your criteria as possible in your price range. You may want your realtor to setup auto mailings of listings tailored to meet your criteria.
Make an offer
Your LIFESTYLES realtor will help you figure out what to offer based on the recent sales of other similar properties in that neighborhood. Your realtor makes the offer with a purchase agreement, signed by the buyers, and normally requesting an inspection if offer accepted. Note that the inspection request makes the offer contingent on the results of the inspection. The buyer pays for the inspection.
Negotiations
So you made an offer and the purchase agreement comes back, but the sellers did not accept it as is. Instead, they made a counter offer – this is a common occurrence. The counter offer may be a price reduction, but is still not what you want to pay. Here is where your LIFESTYLES real estate agent can provide a real benefit and save you money. Negotiations can be complex, there are many aspects of the terms (e.g. price, closing costs, etc) that can be adjusted. Also, market trends and the sense of urgency of both the buyer and seller need to be considered. Your real estate agent will look after your interests first and help you negotiate a counter offer that will satisfy both you and the seller.
Seller accepts offer
Negotiations are complete; the seller and buyer have agreed to the terms of the purchase agreement. Your realtor will schedule a home inspection – LIFESTYLES highly recommends Structure Tech for home inspections; you can count on them doing a very thorough job.
Inspection
You pay a home inspector to look closely for problems with the home that you might have missed – you don’t want any surprises after you buy the home. They will look at the garage, all windows, roof, gutters, foundation, floors, walls, paint. They will test appliances, furnace and AC, water pressure, plumbing. They will look for structural issues, signs of water issues, landscaping issues and more. When finished you will get a report, listing the results and with recommendations to fix serious problems. LIFESTYLES highly recommends Structure Tech; please visit their site and check them out.
See our Resources page for more info about home inspections.
Negotiations for inspection results
If the results of the inspection indicate some serious flaw, the buyer may act on the contingency and revise or cancel the purchase agreement. The inspection results might indicate some work needed that was not evident to the buyer when the home was viewed. Your LIFESTYLES realtor has both the experience and the negotiating skills needed for this part of the process. The realtor will work with the buyer and request the seller make the necessary repairs or ask for a price reduction. When both buyer and seller have agreed, the negotiations are complete and the inspection contingency is removed.
Mortgage application
The inspection contingency is removed and the purchase agreement has been approved by both the buyer and seller. The buyer can start the mortgage application; the mortgage broker has all the data needed – buyer’s financial data as well as purchase price of home, taxes, insurance, etc. The mortgage broker requests an appraisal on the home. At this point, the buyer is waiting on final loan approval and a successful appraisal of the home’s value.
Schedule closing
The realtor schedules a closing with a closing company selected by the buyer – LIFESTYLES highly recommends using Cindy Lefaive at LANDTITLE for closing. The closing company will request a title search of the property. Before the closing you should contact the city and utility companies to make arrangements for any services you will need at your new home.
What happens at the closing? What exactly is a title search?
Please see our Resources page for information about this.
Close
The formal closing process where the property is transferred to the buyer from the seller.
