Steps to Buying Your New Home.

Buying a home is a big decision in your life. There are many steps to get to the closing table. Here is a brief overview of the process.

Step 1 - Find a REALTOR® that you like and you trust. Your agent will be helping to guide you through one of the largest purchases of your life. You need to trust them and know that they are working for your best interest. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and check client reviews.

Step 2 - Get pre-qualified for your mortgage. You will need to speak with a lender to see what you can get pre-qualified for. This is the initial step to starting the mortgage process. Your lender will let you know how much house you can afford after looking at your financial information. Your real estate agent can recommend dependable lenders that they have worked with in the past.

Step 3 - Begin your home search. Coordinate with your agent how and when you will see homes. Your agent’s website is a great place to start. Plan a day to see several homes at once to maximize your time and really get a feel of what you are looking for and not looking for.

Step 4 - Make an offer. Once you have found the home, your agent will write up the offer and walk you through what you are agreeing to. Your agent will present the offer to the listing agent. At this point the sellers will accept your offer, counter the offer or reject the offer. Negotiations will continue until an agreement is reached to either purchase the home or keep looking.

Step 5 - Congratulations you are under contract! Now it is important to hire a licensed inspector to check the home for any major issues that may not be visible to the average person. They typical options after the inspection could be asking for repairs to made to the home or the buyer walking away from the home. Your agent can walk through these steps specific to your contract and the home inspection.

Step 6 - Lender required appraisal. Your lender will order an appraisal of the new home to confirm the purchase price. Should the appraisal value not come back you will have to either re-negotiate the purchase price with the seller, pay the difference in cash or walk away from the home. Your agent will be able to guide you through this process.

Step 7 - Other inspections. At this point you will need to conduct any additional inspections needed before closing. This can include a wood infestation report, septic tank inspection, pool/hot tub inspection or other agreed upon inspections.

Step 8 - Clear to close! You have received final approval from your lender and you are ready to head to the closing table.

Step 9 - Final walkthrough. You and your agent will do a final walkthrough of the home before closing. This is to confirm that the home is in the same condition it was in when you wrote the contract.

Step 10 - Closing! Congrats you have made it to the closing table. It is no easy feat but so worth it. You will sign all of the paperwork and leave as proud new homeowner.

This is a broad overview of the process that you will go through in buying a new home. Each and every transaction is different and a great agent will be able to guide you through each step. The process can and will be stressful but in the end it will be worth it. If you are ready to buy a new home in the Birmingham area I would love to walk with you through this process. You can reach me from the contact page.

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Your new home is waiting.