ARE YOU A FIRST TIME MARYLAND HOME BUYER?
HAVE QUESTIONS YOU WANT ANSWERED?
WANT TO GET PRE-APPROVED FOR FREE?
DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN?
If you answeredYES, thenKEEP READING!!!!!
10 STEPS TO HOME BUYING SUCCESS!
2. ATTEND YOUR FREE PRE APPROVAL COUNSELING SESSION! Schedule your appointment for a FREE individual pre approval counseling session with ONE OF MY TOP PARTICIPATING LOAN OFFICERS! They will sit down with you one on one and help you determine the best financing option for you, pull your credit reports, and answer any questions you may have. Their goal is to make sure you are comfortable with your choice of financing and have a crystal clear understanding of what your total mortgage payment will be including your PITI (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) so you will be ready to meet with me for your FREE PERSONALIZED FIRST TIME HOME BUYER CONSULTATION! All of my recommended loan officers work daytime, evening, and weekend hours so they are available to meet with you when it is convenient for you! They will most likely request that you bring with you copies of your last 2 pay stubs from your work, a copy of your most recent years tax returns, a copy of your bank statements, and possibly a copy of retirement accounts.
3. ATTEND YOUR FREE ONE ON ONE FIRST TIME HOME BUYER CONSULTATION SESSION WITH ME! When you attend you can expect to receive information about: who real estate agents represent, the house hunting process, how home inspections work, how much money you need for a deposit, choosing a settlement company, the differences between short sales, foreclosures, and non distressed property transactions, and much more. We will also discuss where you are interested in living and what kind of a home you are interested in purchasing. I am available to meet with you during the day, evening, or the weekend so we can set up your appointment when it is convenient for you! And don't forget that prior to our appointment you can always start your search online with my FREE MLS SEARCH! My website shows you ALL of the active listings, as well as their addresses, no matter what broker they are listed with so you can be assured that you are not missing any homes that are available for purchase! All of the property listings are downloaded from the same MLS database the real estate agents use and are updated instantly when the real estate agents update their listing information. Additionally, you can also set up a FREE INSTANT EMAIL NOTIFIER that will notify you as soon as properties come onto the market that meet your criteria. You will see them the same time that the real estate agents do which gives you a huge advantage over other buyers. All you have to do is enter in your criteria and the database will do the rest!
4. IT’S TIME TO START PREVIEWING HOMES! Once you have been pre-approved and have attended your FREE First Time Home Buyer Personalized Consultation with me, CONTACT ME and we can set up an appointment to START PREVIEWING HOMES! This is where the fun begins and we actually start making the appointments and going out and looking at the homes that you are interested in seeing. I will take care of scheduling, coordinating times, and confirming all of the necessary appointments for ALL of the homes that you would like to go out and see. We can either meet at my office or at the first property (whatever is easier for you)!
5. WRITING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE! Once you find that special home then we need to put together an offer to present to the sellers and the sellers agent. Don't worry, I will help you write an offer to purchase your home and will also help you negotiate the BEST POSSIBLE DEAL FOR YOU! Many of my buyers wonder how they will know what to offer? Don't worry, I will complete a market analysis of the property that you are interested in and show you ALL of the activity that has happened in that area within the past several months to help you come up with a fair offering price!
6. NEGOTIATING! This is the MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS and why you need to make sure that you choose the right agent to work with. In the current housing market, buyers definitely have the advantage and having an agent who is an EXCELLENT NEGOTIATOR can literally get you THOUSANDS of DOLLARS from the sellers (in the past several years, I have successfully negotiated OVER $1,000,000 in savings for my home buyers from the sellers through negotiating alone)! And the best part is that 99.99% of the time, the sellers will be the ones who will pay for your agent’s commission! That's right, the sellers actually pay so you can hire someone to negotiate on your behalf. DO NOT BE FOOLED, if you call the agent who's name is on the sign, they work for the SELLER not you! It is their job to get their client (THE SELLER) the best deal that they can. Sure they can help you write a contract and will be more than happy to do so (SINCE THEY WOULD GET THE ENTIRE COMMISSION OR BOTH SIDES), but they are not putting your interests first since you are not their client(s)! Many NEW HOME BUYERS don’t know that often the builders will pay your buyers agents commission to negotiate for you too!
7. THE LOAN APPLICATION! Once we have successfully negotiated the contract of sale for your new home, you will have to meet with your selected loan officer within a few days to complete your formal loan application paperwork. Since you have already been pre-approved, there will not be much that you need to complete at this step other than sign the paperwork because the loan officer will already have most of the documentation that you brought in with you for your pre-approval appointment.
8. THE HOME INSPECTION! This is another critical part of the process and is your opportunity to not only discover any potential problems that you may not have otherwise known about, but is also your opportunity to learn how to care for your new home! I have some great inspectors that I refer my clients to and they give ALL of my clients their own binder that contains excellent year round maintenance tips to prevent future problems that could cost lots of money. As one of them always says, "you can either spend coins on prevention or you can spend bills on repairs!"
9. SELECTING HOME OWNERS INSURANCE! As we get closer to the date of closing, you will need to select a company to go with to provide you with home owners insurance (assuming you are obtaining a mortgage since banks require insurance). I have several good referrals of insurance agents who can help assist you with getting the best possible rates and coverage for your new home that fits your needs!
10. FINAL WALK THROUGH AND SETTLEMENT DAY! If you requested any type of repairs from your home inspection report, I recommend that you do a walk through of the property several days before settlement to make sure that they were completed to your satisfaction. This way, if they were not done correctly, there is still time to correct them before settlement. However, I still recommend doing a final walk through the day of settlement just to make sure the hot water heater didn't break or the house didn't burn down over night. Once you sign the papers, the house and everything in it is yours. There are many things that I have seen happen at the settlement table, but if you have the right agent with the right team of experts in place and listen to their advice you can surely avoid any problems and have a SMOOTH and ENJOYABLE settlement that may only take 20 minutes of your time (yes 20 minute settlements really are possible and they happen every day)!
WHO PAYS THE BUYERS AGENT?
GENERALLY IT IS CUSTOMARY FOR THE SELLERS TO PAY ALL OF THE REAL ESTATE AGENT'S COMMISSIONS! Please note that there are always exceptions and not every seller is willing to compensate an agent (i.e. For Sale By Owners). If you happen to find a home where the sellers will not compensate me for my services, you can either opt to pay for them yourself or I can help you locate a real estate attorney and/or title company that can help you complete the purchase without any real estate agents being involved. I very rarely see a situation, especially in the current buyer's market, that the sellers are not willing to work with and pay for the services of a real estate agent to represent you as the buyer! Even most New Home Builders are willing to pay a buyers real estate agent's commission!
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