If you have ever watched a home buying reality show on TV, the process of buying a house looks so easy. That ease comes from a lot of editing and skipping over important parts of the actual process. In real life, there are 17 different steps from the moment you decide to buy a home until you are handed the keys and able to walk through the door.
With any other agent, a 17-step process can be tedious and overwhelming. When Bonnie Spindler is on your side, we can make the home buying process just as fun and simple as it looks on TV.
Here are the steps explained for your reference:
Consider Purchasing a Home
How easy was that decision?
Select Bonnie Spindler as Your Real Estate Agent
Bonnie will help educate you, research homes, and provide expert counseling during all steps of the process.
Determine Needs and Wants
You should figure out what they want in a home: location, size, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, a backyard, a pool, a large kitchen, etc… We can help you decide which features are more important and which are ideal, but not necessary.
Discuss Financial Issues
We’ll help you create a budget, factoring in your income and other necessary expenses to determine how much you would be willing to spend per month or year on a home. This step may include utilizing a mortgage calculator to estimate monthly costs.
View and Research Target Homes
We will make arrangements for you to view and tour potential homes, keeping your needs/wants and financial considerations in mind.
Make an Offer to Buy
We’re so excited you found the right home! Once you set a budget, we’ll take care of making an offer on the house for you. This step may get complicated if your offer is rejected or a counteroffer is proposed.
Offer Accepted
If you and the seller both agree upon a price for the home, your offer will be accepted, putting you that much closer to buying the house!
Loan Application
In most home buying cases, you will not be purchasing a house outright. Most buyers will apply for a home loan through a financial institution in order to make consistent payments over an extended period of time. We can put you in touch with a financial institution if necessary.
Inspections
Before the home purchase is finalized, it is essential for you to have an inspection performed on the property by an experienced and certified home inspector. One or more inspectors should survey the ins and outs of the building, looking for any hidden damage or issues that could cause major problems in the future. The inspector(s) will be looking for issues including structural damage, pest infestations, and faulty plumbing or electrical systems. For more information on home inspections, visit our Home Buying FAQ page.
Title Search
The title search involves searching public records to determine if there will be any issues when handing over the title of the house. These issues could include failure of the current owner to pay local/state taxes or an existing mortgage that needs to be paid off. If any issues arise, we will work with the seller’s agent to come up with a settlement agreement.
Appraisal
A home appraisal will be required by the financial institution before you can be approved for a loan. This process will involve a certified, state-licensed professional examining the house to determine the actual value of the home. If the amount of their your pre-approved/pre-qualified loan exceeds the actual value of the home, you may not be able to purchase it.
Loan Approval
If after the inspection, title search, and appraisal, all is well, the financial institution should approve you for the previously agreed upon amount.
Closing Papers Signed
One of the final steps of the home buying process includes you and the seller, their real estate agent, and Bonnie. You will all be signing legal documents. These legal papers will include the house deed, the bill of sale, transfer tax declarations, and buyer/seller settlement statements. It is extremely important to carefully review all documents before signing anything. We will always help advise you on when and where to sign, looking out for your best interests.
Documents Recorded
This step of the process makes the home purchase part of the public records. The title company will deliver these documents to the county courthouse to make the purchase official.
Funds Available to Seller
The exact date and time will depend on the financial institution, but typically, funds will be available to the seller on the same day that the home purchase is finalized.
Seller Moves Out
This date will be agreed upon by you and the seller. The seller must vacate the property by this date or risk legal consequences.
Buyer Moves in
The final step: you get to move into your new home!
The home buying process can be lengthy and complicated. Let Bonnie Spindler guide you through it!
The home buying process can be lengthy and complicated. Let Bonnie Spindler guide you through it!
