Every day our agents help people like you find the home that is just right for them.
When you’re ready to buy, we will take the time to learn what is important to you and help locate and tour the homes that best match your needs and finances.
It’s best to be informed about your home buying journey, so we put together some steps to help you prepare.
What's the right home for you?
Before deciding which house to buy, think about your lifestyle, your current and anticipated housing needs, and your budget. It’s a good idea to create a prioritized list of features you want in your next home – you’ll soon discover finding the right house involves striking a balance between your “must-haves” and your “nice-to-haves.”
To start, consider your lifestyle. If you love to cook, you’ll want a well-equipped kitchen. If you’re into gardening, you’ll want a yard. If you’re planning your office at home, you may want a room for a separate library or work space. If you have several cars, you may require a larger garage. Use this list as your search guide.
Next, think about what you might need in the future. As you consider your housing needs, it’s important to consider how long you may live in your home. If you’re newly married, you might not be concerned with a school district right now, but you could be in a few years. If you have aging parents, you may want to look at homes that offer living arrangements for them as well as you.
It’s important to think about your new home’s location just as carefully as you do about its features. Location is a huge part of any move. In addition to considering the distance to work, you need to evaluate the availability of shopping, police and fire protection, medical facilities, school and day-care, and recreational facilities.
Perhaps the most important decision is deciding on the type of home you want. Do you want a condominium or a co-op? A town house or a detached single-family home? Do you prefer a new home or an older one?
Through all of this, make sure to talk to your real estate professional about where you want to live. He or she is available to analyze data, answer questions, share their professional expertise, and handle all the paperwork and legwork that is involved in the real estate transaction. CENTURY 21 Signature Properties professionals have the expertise to help their clients narrow down their choices by sharing market trends and local information.
How much home can you afford?
Now that you have a good idea what you’re looking for, the next step is figuring out what type of home you can afford. A review of your income, savings, monthly expenses, and debt will be necessary.
Before viewing any homes you’ll want to get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan, which helps determine how much you can afford. It enables you to move swiftly when you find the right home, especially when there are other interested buyers. It also indicates to the seller that you are serious and can afford to buy the property.
A pre-approval is a simple calculation done by a mortgage lender that tells you the amount you’ll be able to finance through a loan and what your monthly payment will be. When you find a home to buy, a pre-approval also reassures the seller that you have the financial means to purchase his or her home.
Know what you can afford is the first rule of home buying, and that depends on how much income and how much debt you have.
The price you can afford to pay for a home will depend on several factors, such as:
- gross income
- the funds you have available for the down payment, closing costs and cash reserves required by the lender
- your debt
- your credit history
- the type of mortgage you select
- current interest rates
Another figure lenders use to evaluate how much you can afford is the housing expense-to-income ratio. It is determined by calculating your projected monthly housing expense, which consists of the principal and interest payment on your new home loan, property taxes and hazard insurance (also known as PITI).
Each buyer is unique and a mortgage professional can help you find out just what you can afford. Your CENTURY 21 Signature Properties agent can recommend trusted mortgage lenders to you.
Know your neighborhood.
When you buy a home, you’re investing in a community. You’ll spend a significant amount of time and money supporting the schools, community organizations and commercial centers in the surrounding areas. Before you make the final decision, take a good look at the location and make sure it fits your needs.
Evaluate the property proximity to other important locations in your life. How long will your commute time be? Is there a hospital or doctor’s office nearby? What about schools, childcare, shopping, family and friends?
Consider all your transportation options. A new home could lend itself to public transportation options or car-pooling. Depending on the type of community, you may be able to find alternative methods of transportation. Take the time to drive from the new home to your commuting destinations to understand the impact it will have on your lifestyle.
Visit and understand the school district you’ll be moving in to. Even if you don’t have children in the school system now, you may some day. The district reputation could positively or negatively impact the selling price of your future home as well.
Make sure you feel comfortable in the area. Drive around the neighborhood at different times of the day and night on multiple days of the week to observe activity/noise levels. Discovering that barking dog next door or noisy road conditions will eliminate unneeded stress from a hasty decision.
Buying a new home is about more than the structure and property. It’s about your new lifestyle as well.
Shopping for a home.
Selecting a buyer’s agent to help you find your dream home is an important first step. He or she can represent your interest in a real estate transaction.
Your CENTURY 21 Signature Properties agent will arrange property showings, track the properties you’ve viewed, and note if they meet your needs.
After touring each home, write down what you liked and didn’t like. Develop a rating system that will help narrow the field. For example, pick the house you like best on day one and compare all other houses to it. When you find a better one, use the new favorite as the standard.
Working with a real estate agent.
Buying a home is one of the most important decisions you will make. That’s why it’s in your best interest to choose an experienced real estate agent who listens to and understands your needs, and works in the area where you want to live.
When you choose a CENTURY 21 Signature Properties agent, you’re dealing with an experienced professional who understands your concerns and will provide you with the personalized service that makes all the difference.
CENTURY 21 Signature Properties agents understand the life changes that real estate decisions can bring.
What should you expect in your first meeting with a real estate agent? An agent typically will talk to you about the neighborhood where you want to live, home prices, schools, transportation, and the surrounding commercial and residential areas.
Making an offer to purchase.
Once you’ve found your dream house, it’s time to get started with the financial and contractual side of the purchase. Let your CENTURY 21 Signature Properties professional guide you through this process. Purchase contracts vary in length and terms from state to state, and within a state, from locality to locality.
Because you and the seller have different goals, rely on your agent’s experience and expertise. He or she can bring order and calm to the process and will know what questions you may not know to ask to help you reach a favorable outcome.
Multiple home purchase offers on the same home are not uncommon, so you may only get one chance to make an offer that the seller will consider. That’s why it’s important to think carefully about your strategy. In most cases it is better to have your real estate professional negotiate the offer. If you have any personal interaction with the homeowner, don’t give out any information about your move, your current housing status, financial status or your feelings about their property – positive or negative. This could hurt you in future negotiations.
How much should you offer?
Your agent will show you what other homes have sold for in the area. You should also consider how much money you might have to put into repairs or renovations. These considerations factor in with how much you’re comfortable spending.
In addition to sale prices for other homes, there are several ways you can determine a good amount to offer:
- The condition of the house. Is the home in move-in condition, in need of paint and other cosmetic improvements, or a fixer-upper that needs some real work?
- The market. If you are in a buyer’s market — where there are more homes for sale than there are people to buy them — prices are probably stable or falling. If you are in a seller’s market — where there are more buyers looking for homes than there are homes for sale — prices are probably moving upward.
- Your ceiling. If you’ve gotten a credit pre-approval, you know how much you can borrow for your home purchase. Of course, you may not be comfortable paying as much as you’ve been approved to borrow, so think carefully about your financial situation before making an offer.
Getting a home loan.
When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will want a lot of information about you (and, at some point, about the house you’ll buy) to determine your loan eligibility. Here’s what you’ll need to provide:
- The name and address of your bank, your account numbers, and statements for the past three months
- Investment statements for the past three months
- Pay stubs, W-2 withholding forms, or other proof of employment and income
- Balance sheets and tax returns, if you’re self-employed
- Information on consumer debt (account numbers and amounts due)
You’ll sign authorizations that allow the lender to verify your income and bank accounts, and to obtain a copy of your credit report. If you’ve already made an offer on a house or condo, you’ll need to give the lender a purchase contract and a receipt for any good-faith deposit that you might have given the seller.
Once you apply, your lender will verify all the information you’ve provided. This is a loan approval process and it can take one to eight weeks, depending on the type of mortgage you choose and other factors that will affect your approval such as fulfillment of contract contingencies.
Since the home that you’re purchasing will serve as collateral for the loan, the lender will order a market value appraisal of the property. The lender will not lend you more than a certain percentage of the value of the property. If your down payment will be less than 20 percent of the value of the property, your loan may require private mortgage insurance and the lender will obtain insurer approval. If the lender has not already done so as part of a pre-approval process, it will verify your employment and bank accounts as well as obtain and evaluate your credit report.
Want more information? Contact Us for expert advice and to put you in touch with a reputable loan officer.
From accepted offer to closing.
Home Inspections
The home inspection is a major step in the buying process. There are many potential problems that can be discovered during this period. These include a leaky roof, radon gas, termite damage, a foundation problem, and wall cracks, to name a few. These problems happen all the time. The difference between closing on your dream home and starting the process all over again is what occurs during the negotiations between you and the seller.
Your CENTURY 21 Signature Properties professional can help make these discussions go more smoothly. In most states you will also have the option of a walk-through before the closing. This is your last chance to make sure that all of the items that you have agreed upon were completed to your satisfaction.
Homeowner’s Insurance
Protecting your new home with insurance is a must. How well you do that depends on the details of your policy. And while you are not legally required to have homeowners’ insurance, mortgage lenders stipulate that you do.
A standard policy will suffice in most instances. It protects against several natural disasters and catastrophic events. However, it will not guard against earthquakes, floods, war, and nuclear accidents. The policy can be expanded to include these disasters as well as coverage for such things as workers’ compensation. In fact, the lender may require that you purchase flood or earthquake insurance if the house is in a flood zone or a region susceptible to earthquakes. You also can increase coverage beyond the depreciated value of personal property such as televisions and furniture by purchasing a replacement-cost endorsement.
Timeline and Paperwork
The closing meeting is where ownership of the home is officially transferred from the seller to you.
First, the closing agent reviews the settlement sheet with you and answers any questions.
Then, the closing agent asks you to sign all the documents. Evidence of required insurance and inspections is also presented (if it wasn’t previously given to the lender).
After that, if everyone agrees that the papers are in order, the buyer submits payment to cover the closing. If the lender will be paying your annual property taxes and homeowners’ insurance for you, a new escrow account (or reserve) is established at this point.
After the meeting, the closing agent officially records the mortgage and deed at your local government clerk’s office or registry of deeds. This legal transfer of the property may take a few days after closing. The closing agent usually will not disburse the funds to everyone who is owed money from the sale (including the seller, real estate professionals, and the lender) until the transaction has been recorded. It is at the point of deed recordation that you become the official owner of the home.
Moving to your new home.
Six to Eight weeks prior to your move:
- Purchase or rent moving supplies: tape, markers, scissors, pocketknife, newspaper, blankets, moving pads, plastic storage bins, rope and a hand truck.
- Free boxes can usually be obtained at a local supermarket, but consider purchasing wardrobe boxes for moving clothes.
- Have a garage sale to clear out unwanted items and plan accordingly.
- Consider donating unwanted items.
- Keep a detailed record of all moving expenses. Your costs may be tax deductible depending on the reasons for your move.
Two weeks prior to your move:
- Hire a reputable mover or rent a moving truck. Be sure to get referrals or references, check with the Better Business Bureau, get estimates, purchase moving insurance.
- Contact your telephone, electric, gas, cable/satellite, refuse and water companies to set a specific date when service will be discontinued.
- Contact utilities companies in your new town about service start dates, including Internet & long distance telephone services.
- Notify healthcare professionals (doctors, dentists, veterinarians) of your move and ask for referrals and record transfers.
- Register children for school and ask for school records to be transferred.
- Notify lawn service, cleaning and security companies when service should be terminated.
- Advise the post office, publications and correspondents of change of address and date of move.
Moving Day
- Have tools handy for breaking down beds and appliances.
- Move valuables (jewelry, legal documents, family photos & collections) yourself – don’t send them with the moving company.
- Make sure you have a complete Home Inventory of all your possessions.
- Give every room a final once over. Don’t forget to check the basement, yards, attic, garage and closets.
- Have the final payment for the movers and money for a tip.
- Don’t forget to check in with your CENTURY 21 Signature Properties professional – he or she may be able to provide useful local advice, and/or referrals.