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HOME BUYERS G U I D E F O R GUIDE FOR HOME BUYERS A Step-By-Step Guide to Buyin

HOME BUYERS G U I D E F O R GUIDE FOR HOME BUYERS A Step-By-Step Guide to Buying A Home How the Home-Buying Process Works Step 1: Research And Prepare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Step 2: Narrow Your Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Step 3: Viewing Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Step 4: Making An Oﬀer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Step 5: After The Oﬀer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Step 6: Closing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 How to Avoid Common Home-Buying Missteps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 G L O S S A R Y. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 C O N T E N T S 2 During your home search, your real estate agent is your lifeline. Whether they’re helping you compare properties in your favorite neighborhood, listing your house, or helping you navigate the process of closing, your agent is committed to helping you ﬁnd the home of your dreams. But, even with an experienced agent by your side, you still need to have a solid understanding of the homebuying process. After all, your new home will be one of the most expensive purchases you’ll ever make! You should know a thing or two, and that’s why I’ve put together this handy buyer’s guide. It’s here to demystify the process so you can feel conﬁdent along the journey to ﬁnding your future home. GUIDE FOR HOME BUYERS 01 Research And Prepare Are you ready to buy? While you may feel ready to buy a home, it’s worth assessing your personal level of interest in home ownership before you make what will likely be the largest purchase of your life. There are many hidden costs that come with home ownership: From property taxes to utilities, these costs can add up quickly, and if you’re not prepared, it can feel like you’re drowning in tiny details. Make sure you’re ﬁnancially prepared for not only your down payment and mortgage, but these hidden costs as well. Beyond ﬁnancial concerns, you should spend some serious time thinking about your personal pros and cons of home ownership. Pros/Cons List Pros ✓ Freedom to renovate at your leisure ✓ Real estate increases in value over time; your new home is a long-term investment ✓ With a ﬁxed-rate mortgage, you can lock in a monthly payment and plan around it accordingly Cons χ Landscaping and general home maintenance are now your sole responsibility χ The hidden costs of home ownership can snowball χ Big initial cash investment for down payment 3 H O W T H E H O M E - B U Y I N G P R O C E S S W O R K S GUIDE FOR HOME BUYERS After you’ve put some real time and eﬀort into the preparation process, it’s time to begin the process of searching for and purchasing your home. Get Pre-Approved Before you dive into the home search process, you should get pre-approved by a mortgage lender. Pre-approval doesn’t mean you’re committing to purchase a property or take out a loan: It’s just a signal of interest that makes the process move more smoothly further down the line. There are two major reasons to get pre-approved before you start looking at homes: 1. Your chosen mortgage lender wants to know whether or not you’re qualiﬁed to borrow money from them. To determine whether or not you’re qualiﬁed, they’ll look at your income, your outstanding debts, your credit score, and your general ﬁnancial health. 2. Getting pre-approved helps you understand what your price range is, because it’ll tell you how much a lender is willing to let you borrow. Knowing what type of mortgage you’ll be able to secure will help you decide what price range to look in. Find an Agent Last but most certainly not least, you should ﬁnd an agent before you start looking for a home. No, it’s not a requirement — plenty of people have searched for and purchased homes without the help of an agent. But an agent’s dedicated real estate know-how will be invaluable during your house hunt. Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you can make, so you should make sure you’ve got the help and tools you need to manage that investment from start to ﬁnish. 0 1 R E S E A R C H A N D P R E P A R E 4 GUIDE FOR HOME BUYERS 02 Narrow Your Search Before you begin your house hunt, start oﬀ with a list of “wants” and “needs.” Try to be as realistic as possible: Depending on your budget, you’ll likely end up in a situation where you have to make compromises to ﬁnd the home that works best for you. With those “wants” and “needs” written down and ready to go, here are a few things to keep in mind as you’re house hunting: 5 GUIDE FOR HOME BUYERS Start at Home Before you take your home search outside of your current home, make a list of the things you like (or love) about your current space. Do you get great natural light? Are you on a quiet street? Do you have friendly neighbors? You may take these things for granted on a daily basis, but honing in on the things you like about your current home will help you guide and focus your search. Research the Schools Whether you’ve got little ones at home or not, schools have a huge impact on the potential value (and resale value) of your next home. Do your research and make sure that you’re looking at homes in school districts you’d feel comfortable living in. After all, even if you don’t have children now, plans can always change. Buying a home is a long-term investment, and ensuring that your new home is in a good school district can make all the diﬀerence a few years down the road. The Parking Situation If you're looking at a single-family detached home, look beyond the existence of a driveway. Is it easy to enter and exit your home? Is there enough parking available for all your family’s cars? 0 2 N A R R O W Y O U R S E A R C H 6 GUIDE FOR HOME BUYERS Take Stock of Curb Appeal You can change a lot about a home, but beyond a few coats of paint, changing the way it looks on the outside can become a huge undertaking. Do you like the overall look of the house? Would you feel comfortable showing this home oﬀ to your friends and family? Location, Location, Location It’s easy to get caught up in what seems like the “perfect” house, but what happens if that perfect house is an hour from friends, dining, and entertainment? Searching for the perfect location to settle down in is full of trade-oﬀs: After all, some people would ﬂourish in a home that’s an hour from entertainment but 15 minutes from work. Keep your desired neighborhood characteristics at the front of your mind as you browse, but remember that nothing will be perfect. Keep an Eye Out for the uploads/Finance/ buyer-guide.pdf