Buying
One of the most important things you can do is to be prepared as you search for, find and buy a new home. By keeping on top of your game-plan at all times you will greatly increase your chances of success. Things you must know about buying a home before you get started can save everyone involved a lot of time and frustration.
First off, are you ready to buy or are you just browsing real estate listings? If you are just a browser, then don’t waste an agent’s time by scheduling showings. Agents work on commission only and they don’t get paid, if you don’t buy.
Secondly, are you qualified to buy? If you know that you are ready to buy a new home, but have not spoken to a lender yet, then it is time to. Don’t go any further without speaking to a lender. Lenders are there to help you and don’t care about the things most buyers are afraid of or embarrassed about admitting. Lenders see people everyday with bumps in their credit. Bankruptcies, foreclosures and short sales of prior homes are not uncommon for lenders to see on credit reports. These things do not mean you can’t buy. It may only mean that you have not had them removed from your credit report yet or you may simply need to wait a little longer to get a loan. Often times, 2 to 3 years is all it takes to have things like a foreclosure or bankruptcy removed from your credit report and often times lenders can help you get them off so that you can move forward.
Thirdly, do you have money to buy? There used to be a time not so long ago when you needed no money st the closing table to purchase a new home. This can still happen in some cases, but you will still need money for an earnest deposit just to write an offer on a house, money for a home inspection, money for an appraisal of the house, money for a down payment in most cases, and money to move into your new home.
So be sure that you want to move before you start looking at houses. Once you are sure, then you need to speak to a lender. Lenders can provide a prequalification or preapproval letter which is needed to write an offer in most cases. When you write the offer, you typically need to put down $1,000 dollars as an earnest deposit which in most cases you can get back if you don’t get the house. An earnest deposit is not a down payment, but can be used towards the down payment in some cases.
After you submit an offer with a prequalification letter and an earnest amount down, you will now need to get a home inspection. If the home inspection fails, then you should easily be able to get your earnest money back and look for a different house. If it passes, and you decide not to buy, you could be at risk of losing your earnest deposit.
After the inspection is the final process of closing on the house. Your Realtor will help you through this very involved process. It can take 3 weeks to 3 months to close on a typical deal unless it’s a short sale where it can take up to a year or more to close on the house. During the closing process, you will also work with your lender very closely and may be asked to provide additional documents to speed the process up. This is also where the lender has to get an appraisal on the house in order to lend you the requested amount. You may be asked to pay this fee, there may also be an application fee from the lender at this time as well. Some combine the fees, while others separate them. The longest wait time in closing on a house is usually as a result of the lending process. Many people are involved in coordinating everything around the lender, so be prepared to be patient.
After all the financing is ready, the house can be scheduled to be closed on. This typically takes place at a Title Agency or the Realtor’s office. At the closing table, you will be asked to bring in your final required down payment and closing costs if your lender requires any.
From there, you can take you key to your new home and go open the door for the first time as the new owner and live happily in your new dwelling.
Start searching for homes in Holland MI.