8 SIMPLE STEPS TO BUY A HOUSE
First, schedule a buyers consultation with your home advisor (realtor). Your home advisor will help narrow down your must-haves and wants.
If you don’t have a lender in mind, I can provide you with a few recommendations. Don’t make assumptions and make sure to speak to a lender. Your lender will be able to pre-approve you or get you on an action course for how to get pre-approved in the future. Make sure to ask your lender about first time homebuyer assistance. When it comes to mortgage loans, you can shop around with different lenders, and it does not negatively impact your credit score. Make sure to ask your lender how many days you have. Credit Score requirements vary from lender to lender and the type of loan. To the right, is a graphic from Quicken Loans on their requirements. Please keep in mind other lenders may have different requirements.
Here’s the fun part, looking at homes.
Nice, you found the one. Your offer will consist of the following three things:
The written contract
Earnest money – Think of it as a good faith deposit that goes along with the contract.
Pre-Approval letter or proof of funds.
Your offer was accepted. YES! If it wasn’t go up to the home shopping step again.
You’ll need to contact a home inspector to go inspect your future home. Feel free to ask your realtor for a few recommendations.
Note to self, the inspection is just a general inspection. Your inspector will let you know if they recommend a specialist do an in-depth inspection of a specific part of the home.
Homes that were built pre-1978 need a lead base inspection.
Doing a radon inspection is always advised as well. Regardless of the age of the home. The Environmental Protection Agency defines radon as “a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer. Radon gas is inert, colorless, and odorless. Radon is naturally in the atmosphere in trace amounts.”
It’s self-explanatory. If the home inspector finds anything needing repairs, your realtor will send the request for repairs to the sellers’ agent. Hopefully, they’ll agree to fix everything on the list but are not required to.
Each lender works differently, but usually once the request for repairs has been agreed upon the lender will send out an appraiser to value the home.
Great, you’ve made it to closing. On the day of, you’ll do a walk-through with your realtor to ensure the home is in the same condition as when you made an offer and that any repairs were done. By this point, your lender and/or closing attorney will have told you how much money you need to bring to the closing table. Be prepared to give your signature more than once. You’ll officially receive the keys.
What to expect in Huntsville’s competitive market?
Removing Contingencies
Due to the lack of inventory, some buyers are removing the home inspection and appraisal contingencies. As a realtor, I caution my clients to be careful. At the same time, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t let you know of what’s going on.
Bidding Wars
There are more buyers in the Huntsville market than houses for sale. Don’t be surprised if you find your perfect home and get out bided.
myths you'll want to avoid
Since my home is new construction, I don’t need a third-party inspection. False, new homes can have issues.
I don’t need a radon inspection. False, radon doesn’t discriminate with zip codes or new builds. Getting a radon test is always recommended.
I need to save 20% down. False, often you can put less and sometimes even zero. It’s on a case-by-case basis. Please speak to a lender about your particular situation.
I’ll get a better deal if I don’t use a realtor or the seller’s realtor. Not necessarily, as a buyer, you don’t pay any realtor fees. The seller does. By law, the seller’s agent can’t disclose confidential information so you aren’t necessarily going to get a better deal. As a matter of fact, it’s advised you have your own realtor representing your interests only.