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Whether your are ready to buy a new home or just thinking about buying a new home (or property), here are the basics steps for home ownership..

1. Speak with an experienced and trusted lender to obtain your pre-qualification or pre-approval letter.

A lender will help you determine how much you financially can afford each month. There are many factors to consider when wanting to buy and own a home. They might have recommendations before you buy a home. Speaking with a lender is a smart first step, even if you aren’t ready to buy a home, but you want to purchase in the next 6-18 months. If you need a lender recommendation, please contact me. I would love to help you with step 1!
The second step is a pretty big one, but it doesn’t have to be a dreaded one..

2. Hire a qualified and licensed Realtor®.

While I hope you decide to hire me to buy your next home, it is imperative that you do your research and hire the right real estate agent for you. You want to know the agent has your interests above theirs. I understand hiring a real estate agent can be even trickier than finding your dream home, but with my approach I make the buying process one of ease and comfort.

I’m not sure what you see when you picture a real estate agent. I don’t want to just replace this with my face, but with everything I stand for: honesty, integrity, dedication, knowledge, respect, persistence, patience, loyalty, and a true friend. Let’s be a team!

The next step involves paper work and getting to the heart of what you really want.

3. Sign a buyer representation agreement & tell your Realtor® what you want and need.

Any professional real estate agent will have you sign a buyer’s representation agreement and provide you with “Information About Brokerage Services”. These files can be viewed here. They basically mean, I work with you and you work with me, as well as, I am dedicated to you and you are dedicated to me. I do advise these, and any documents for that matter, to be read in full before signing.

When you decide to hire a Realtor®, you might already have your eye on the perfect house, and just need someone to guide you to purchasing it. Or you might just be starting down the path of home ownership and have no clue what is on the market. Providing your Realtor® with a detailed list of your desires in your next property will allow them to look through the 1000s of homes in your area to pin point which ones to present to you.

With the Internet at our finger tips, you might already be very active looking at homes using your phone or computer. There are so many tools and websites out there, with my favorite one being the HAR.com App. The key is to find one you like, that has accurate information. I have found HAR.com is the only one that updates their listings right away.

Another option I like to provide to my client.. I love to set up my clients with customized weekly, bi-weekly, or even daily emails of homes that are on the market and homes that have just come on to the market. If you would like a customized email, please reach out, and I will set this up for you. All this will set you up for finding the perfect home or property.

4. Find your dream home!

When you find a home you are interested in, your Realtor® will set up a showing. You might have to kiss a lot of frog homes before you find your dream home, but when you do, things really get exciting. This might takes days, weeks, or sometimes months, but once you have found the perfect property, your Realtor® will run the “numbers” or “comparables” by doing a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) to help you decide what the market believes the home is worth, what the home is worth to you, and the price you would like to offer. All three of these numbers can be different numbers. A Realtor® will help you navigate these numbers leading you to the next step..

5. Submit your offer and and often times negotiate with the seller.

Your Realtor® will draft all the necessary paperwork for submitting your offer. This offer is a contract, a legally binding document, which will contain the price you are willing to pay, the inclusions you want (pool table, big screen TV, refrigerator, washer/dryer, big screen TV), to your ideal closing date (the date you take possession), to conditions that need to be met for the deal to go through. Once the contract is submitted, it might take a few hours or sometimes a few days to hear back from the seller. Most neighborhoods in the Houston area are in competitive markets, so counter-offers are common. Your offer might not be accepted, and you and your agent will be back on step 4..

But once you have an executed contract, your Realtor® will submit the necessary documents to your lender, and..

6. Obtain your loan and schedule the necessary inspections.

This step is typically the most important one. You will want to get with your lender right away to finish the loan process. The lender is the best one to ask financial related questions, so if you chose one with great communication skills this process is typically easy and relatively fast.

Most likely you are now within an option period (the option period is an agreed upon set amount of days in which the buyer can legally get out of the contract, in short, it is like an un-do button), and you will want to get your inspections done at this time. If your inspector finds any issues, then you may want to renegotiate price or contingencies with the seller. This option period is a very crucial time for you, the buyer, so scheduling an inspection right away is imperative.

The next step is the final step..

7. Close & obtain the keys!

This final step is the most exciting, and one that comes with a “well worth it” wait. Once you have obtained your financing, and the closing date has arrived, it is time to cross all your ts and dot all your is. You and your Realtor will meet at the title company to exchange money and obtain signatures. When you get to this step, a big congratulations is in order!

If you are in the Houston market, please contact me if you need a qualified Realtor® to help you buy, sell or lease a home.

Jordan Marie Schilleci
Realtor®
Beth Ferester & Company

Jordan@rewithjo.com  ::  Call/Text Anytime (832) 493-6685