Step 1: Start Your Research Early
Visit ree123.com and make note of particular homes you are interested in and see how long they have been on the market. Your realtor can help you note any changes in the asking price and answer any questions you have. This will give you a sense of the housing trends in specific areas. Determine a search criterion that fits you or your family’s needs.
Step 2: Get Pre-Qualified
Before you start looking for a home, you will need to know how much you can spend. To get pre-qualified for your mortgage, you need to provide some financial information to your mortgage broker, such as your income and the amount of savings and investments you have. Your lender will review this information and tell you how much they can lend you. This will tell you the price range of the homes you should be looking at.
Step 3: Shop for Your Home and Make an Offer
Start touring homes in your price range. Once you’ve found the one, work with your realtor to negotiate a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes in the same neighborhood. Once you and the seller have reached an agreement on a price, the house will go into escrow, which is the period of time it takes to complete all of the remaining steps in the home buying process.
Step 4: Get a Home Inspection
Typically, purchase offers are contingent on a home inspection of the property to check for signs of structural damage or things that may need fixing. Your realtor usually will help you arrange to have this inspection conducted within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller. This contingency protects you by giving you a chance to renegotiate your offer or withdraw it without penalty if the inspection reveals significant material damage.
Step 5: Have the Home Appraised
Lenders will arrange for an appraiser to provide an independent estimate of the value of the house you are buying. The appraiser is a member of a third party company and is not directly associated with the lender. The appraisal will let all the parties involved know that you are paying a fair price for the home.
Last Step: Move Into Your New Home!
About the author: My name is JoAnne Hamberg-Magurn and I am the broker and owner of the Real Estate Exchange in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. I’d love to help you buy or sell a home. Give our office a call at (978) 582-4339, or email us at [email protected] if you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in Massachusetts or New Hampshire.
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