Steps To Buy a Home: 6 Must-Follow Tips

Buying a home is not always a simple task. It can be a very intimidating process. We have listed some easy steps to follow to help make it a smooth process.

Planning to buy a new home?

Or have already spent a lot of time look at potential homes?

It is quite natural for buyers to spend several weeks, and even months looking for the right home. Even in the world of technology, there are some important steps to follow in order to end up with a right property. We listed 6 must-follow steps below.

1. Pre-Approval is Required

It is important to gather all the necessary information that is required to complete a mortgage transaction. Don’t confuse this with pre-qualification. Pre-approval is the process of actually getting approved for a mortgage, without having an actual property selected. Basically, it helps substantially and will aid you in negotiating with a seller. Once you are done with this step, you will be ready to move forward with the purchase.

2. Making Agreements

There is simply no such thing as a verbal agreement in the world of Real Estate. If there is anything that the seller agreed to, you need to make sure that they agree in writing. Else, if you go for a verbal agreement, there is no feasible way to prove that the agreement was made.

3. Start Your Search

With your pre-approval letter in hand, you can start looking for your new home-to-be. Explore several properties, even if you find the perfect in the first go, it is important to still search for some alternates. After you have chosen your new home, don’t forget to write a sales contract and give a deposit.

Your next step will be forwarding the sales contract to your broker to accompany the rest of the documentations. It is your pre-approval that will now sort things out for you. The loan process should be relatively quick.

4. Lock in Your Rate

Notify the mortgage company that you are ready to lock in your rate. When the rate is locked you will be given a certain amount of time to close. Now it can be 15 to 60 days, and in some cases 90 days. With the fixed locked rate, you can rest assure that the rate will not fluctuate. Remember you also have the option to float the rate.

5. Home Inspection

Getting a home inspection done by an independent home inspector is a great idea. Going through the home prior to purchase will let you know that the property, which looks beautiful from the outside, doesn’t have any underlying issues.

6. Close the Deal

You need to have a copy of all of the loan documents prior to closing. Read through all of the documents carefully and call your broker ahead of time with any questions. Once you have reviewed all of the documents, set up a closing with the seller and your attorney.

Things can differ in different regions and countries. However, the basic process of buying a house remains same. So these steps should never fail to help!