How to Start Looking for a Home

So you’ve outgrown or simply grown tired of the place you’ve called home the last several years. After some serious thought, you’ve finally decided to start looking for a place that is more suited to your needs. So where do you start?

The first step of any real estate transaction is to meet with your financial advisor. Perhaps that’s you yourself. But whoever it is, have a determination made of the amount of home ownership costs that your budget can comfortably afford. The budget for home ownership costs should include mortgage payments, real estate taxes, home insurance, HOA fees, maintenance and utilities.

The next step would be to meet with a mortgage company or banker to get pre-qualified for the amount of loan that corresponds with the mortgage payment you have already determined. This is a relatively easy process, but one that is very necessary at the time that you submit an offer on a home. A seller will typically want to see evidence of your ability to purchase their home before they will consider your offer. I should note that the mortgage company will calculate a couple of debt to income ratios that will determine the maximum mortgage payment / loan amount that they feel comfortable with. And that is the amount that they typically will indicate on the pre-approval letter. If it is lower than what you calculated, it is a good wake up call. Go with the lower amount. But if it is higher, you should stick with the lower amount you already feel comfortable with. Everyone has their own appetite for risk. But when taking into consideration the security that home ownership provides, it seems prudent to stay within your comfort level.

At this point, you can start seriously looking for a home. With the internet, you can search a myriad of websites to get a feel for home styles and prices. But after some preliminary research, I recommend that you choose a real estate agent to represent you. Keep in mind that an experienced, full-time, local, service oriented real estate professional can answer questions on schools, neighborhoods, demographics, etc., to help you decide on the selection criteria of the homes you would want to view. Then, the realtor can quickly sort through the thousands of homes on the market in Montgomery County and present to you a packet with details on homes that meet your specific criteria. And then the realtor can make appointments and accompany you to view the homes and give you their professional opinion. And the best part of this is that it’s free! Remember, the seller pays the realtor commission.

After you select a home, your realtor will be an integral part of the negotiations by providing you with comparable home values and working with you and the seller’s agent on various contract issues. Once your offer is accepted, your realtor will prepare the contract and provide information on inspections, appraisals, walk-throughs, etc. In fact your realtor will be with you every step of the way until completion of the contract. Buying a new home can be one of the most stressful events you will ever encounter. But it doesn't have to be. I feel that following the above steps will minimize the stress and may even make it a fun, enjoyable adventure!

For more information, please visit my website, http://www.claudiahohlt.com/, or call me at 936-537-1656.