Congratulations! You’ve decided to enter the world of home ownership, or are looking to relocate to the beautiful Oxford area. Now that you have made the decision, it is important to understand the home buying process to ensure that you are getting the best investment for your money. The home-buying process can be a chaotic time with offers and counter-offers flying back and forth. Having a real estate agent that you know and trust, and who will have your best interest in mind, can help to make the process of purchasing Oxford realty easier for you. If you don’t have a real estate agent yet, let us step in to give you a guide to all things home-buying. Below is an outline of the basic progression you can expect when purchasing a home.
Find a home to purchase.
When searching for homes, be sure to use all of your resources, including your real estate agent, search listings online, personal drives around neighborhoods that you’re interested in, and putting out feelers to friends and family. It is a good idea to let people know you are looking, because you’ll never know where a good lead or reference might come from.
Look at homes that are within your budget, or fixer-uppers that have a lot of potential. If the home needs some updating, but meets your requirements in terms of the big things that can’t be changed, like size and location, don’t let the physical imperfections of the home stand in your way of buying a great home.
Consider financing options and secure financing.
When applying for a home loan, don’t be bound by loyalty to your current financial institution. Shop around and compare rates, as fees can be surprisingly varied, along with interest rates from different institutions. Some authorities recommend that you have a back-up lender for your home loan. Just because you qualified for a loan doesn’t guarantee that your loan will eventually be funded. Be aware that underwriting guidelines, lender risk-analysis, and investor markets can all change, which can have an effect on the financing for your home loan. Having a back-up lender in case the unexpected happens can provide you with an alternative way to keep the home buying process on, or close to on schedule.
Make an offer.
Once you have found a home that you want to purchase, your real estate agent will help you to decide what a good offer price is, and any conditions that you want to ask for as a part of the sale. After you and your agent have agreed upon a purchase price to offer and any conditions, your age
nt will then present the offer to the seller’s agent. The seller can either accept your offer as is, or issue a counter offer. After hearing back from the seller, you can choose to accept the counter offer, or continue negotiating back and forth until all parties reach an agreement, or you decide to call it quits and move on to another home.
Before you submit your offer, take one last look at your budget, factoring in closing cost (anywhere from 2-5% of purchase price), commuting cost, and any immediate repairs and major purchases that you’ll need to make prior to moving in. Also, think ahead. How much more are you going to be spending on utilities for a larger home?
Obtain home inspection.
Having a home inspection done, regardless of how the home appears, is essential to protecting your investment. A trained professional can inspect the quality, safety, and overall condition of the home. A home inspection could save you from getting stuck with a money pit, or the headache of performing a lot of unexpected repairs. In some instances, a home inspection can reveal serious defects that the seller did not disclose. If this occurs, in most cases, you are able to rescind your offer and get your deposit back. Other options include negotiating to have the seller make the necessary repairs, or discount the asking price of the home.
Close or continue house-shopping.
After having reached an agreement between parties, or better yet, the home inspection didn’t reveal any major problems, you are ready to close on the house. Essentially, closing is where you sign a ton of paperwork in a short amount of time, and cross your fingers that nothing falls through at the last minute. Once all the paperwork is completed and financing is finalized, the home is officially yours!
If you are ready to make the move to purchase your next home from the vast selection of Oxford realty available, contact Kay Hightower today! We can help you find your next home, one that will fit your needs and budget, while keeping your best interest in mind! We will help you have a painless experience, and make sure that you’ll be satisfied with the whole home buying process. Give us a call. We guarantee that you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner!