The Ultimate Guide To Buying A Home

The decision to buy a home is one that gets deeply rooted in individuals over time. Our goals for owning a home might be different from person to person, but the feeling that comes when you have your keys in hand is one that defines a great deal of moments. If you’re thinking of buying a home, follow this guide for a good understanding of the buying process.

1. Decide if buying a home is right for you

Yes. You might probably be asking yourself if owning a home could be a bad idea. And the answer is yes! Buying a home comes with responsibilities completely different to renting it such as routine home maintenance and repairs. This makes it necessary to consider your financial situation, career aspirations, geographic location and your readiness for house ownership. According to the Zillow Group Report, 72% of homebuyers believe that a life event such as change in their household or family size, remote working, a new job or job transfer influenced their decision to move to a new home.

2. Decide if you should sell first

Only if you’re already a homeowner, look to sell your current home at the same time as you’re buying a new one, forming a property chain. Do a well researched analysis before deciding to sell.

3. Decide on your budget

Next is to determine how much you want to spend on the home, taking note of the ongoing or recurring costs. This might be dependent on how much of a deposit you can get together. You’re not left alone in this process, this Home Affordability Calculator will guide you to the right price range, taking into consideration your annual income, monthly debts and projected down payment amount, among other criteria. 

4. Get your finances in place

As you begin the homebuying process, it’s crucial to focus on improving your credit score. You might think of the credit score in terms of loan approval only, but it also affects your financial posture. Work out how much of a deposit for the kind of mortgage you can get together, that’s if you’re not a cash buyer

5. Choose your property

Once you have a thorough understanding of your financial strength, it’s time to do some property searching. First of all know the kind of area you want to buy your property from and whether its a surrounding you want to live in. Good houses sell quickly, so by all means necessary, make sure you are available to look at them. Do a thorough search of the property, making sure that you’ve covered all corners. 

6. Determine if you need a guide through the buying process

A real estate agent can help you locate homes that meet your needs and are in your price range, as well as meet with you to view the homes. A good agent can protect you from any pitfalls that you might encounter during the process and will make everything easier for you during your next buy. Most agents receive a commission, paid from the seller’s proceeds. 

7. Make an offer

Decide how much money you want to offer for the house, along with any conditions you want to ask for. After that, present the offer to the seller, then the seller will either accept your offer or issue a counteroffer. You can then accept, or continue to go back and forth until you either reach a deal or decide to call it off. Before submitting a final offer, take another look at your budget. This time, factor in estimated closing, commuting costs, and any immediate cost such as the home inspection, home insurance, property taxes, and homeowner’s association fees

8. Arrange a mortgage

In deciding how big a loan to actually take, you’ll want to look at the house’s total cost, not just the monthly payment. Consider how high the property taxes are in your chosen neighborhood, how much homeowner’s insurance will cost, how much you anticipate spending to maintain or improve the house, and how much your closing costs will be

9. Schedule the inspection

According to the Zillow Group Report. 88% of homebuyers conducted an inspection on a home they were buying. Including an inspection contingency and completing a home inspection are the best ways to ensure the home you’re buying doesn’t have any major underlying issues. And it’s a great way into making sure that no other issues escaped your sight, and any renovations the homeowner promised to make had been done. If major, non-cosmetic issues are found, you can reopen negotiations, requesting that the seller pay to fix the issue prior to closing or provide you a credit so you can fix it on your own after closing.

10 Closing

If the inspection didn’t reveal any significant problems and you’re able to work out a deal with the seller then you should be ready to close. This involves signing all the paperworks. There could be closing costs, normally between 3% to 5% of the sale price which includes loan origination fees, title insurance, surveys, taxes, and credit report charges. Once all this is done, you can now set up utilities for the new home — things like electric, cable and internet. In other words, you’ll receive your keys and the home is now yours.

In Conclusion:

You’re now a homeowner, it’s time to move in and enjoy the Freedom that comes with it.

SOURCES:

• https://www.zillow.com/research/buyers-consumer-housing-trends-report-2021-30039/
• https://www.investopedia.com/updates/first-time-home-buyer/
• https://www.zillow.com/home-buying-guide/10-steps-to-buying-a-home/
• https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/the-hoa-step-by-step-guide-to-buying-a-home/
• https://time.com/nextadvisor/mortgages/mortgage-news/summer-2022-housing-market-predictions/