It’s exciting to look at properties and many buyers want to just jump right into a car and start looking. But it is very important to speak with a mortgage lender before starting the buying process to determine your purchasing power (if not paying cash of course). This helps to narrow down your search and also to get you prepared to be in position to make an offer. In a multiple offer scenario, which we are seeing a lot of recently, it takes time to get your approval setup and the sellers could go with another buyer who is already approved and ready to go. Some mortgage lenders like Movement Mortgage will actually put you into underwriting right away so you are really far along in the process, which will make your offer even more attractive to the sellers.

We will setup a custom MLS portal for you notifying you of new properties as they come on the market. The system will notify you first with instant notification, or choose to receive a daily digest to review each day. You can favorite and reject properties as you go. Review things like HOA fees, location, taxes, schools etc before heading out. We also recommend a quick drive by the property before scheduling to go inside to make sure it checks off the right boxes.

Once you have determined your purchasing power and have done your initial research on properties, it’s now time to get in the car and visit properties. We recommend to narrow this list down to about 5-6 properties to look at in a day. Once you look at more than that, it all becomes a blur! Make sure to bring a notebook to make notes and feedback on the properties you visit.

Once you have found one, remember not to get too emotionally attached to the property. It’s best to have a backup in place in case things don’t work out with your first choice. Remember, real estate is emotional, but you must take out that emotion to be able to negotiate effectively to not overpay for a property.

Now it’s time to schedule any necessary inspections: complete home inspection, more specific HVAC, roof, well, septic tank etc…We can recommend companies and help to get it scheduled. Once the reports are completed, it’s time to negotiate for any necessary repairs.

If you are obtaining a mortgage for the purchase, it’s important to stay in touch with your lender throughout the process. They will ask for many items to support income, expenses etc…Stay on top of it! The mortgage company will also order the appraisal to determine the value of the property. If it comes in LOW we have some negotiating to do.

It is important that a property receives a CL100 report which looks at any wood rot and termite damage. The seller will be responsible for making repairs if any items come up on the report.

Final walk through is typically the morning of closing. The lender will reach out to you about 2-3 days before closing with your final numbers to approve. Then the attorney takes over to schedule a time to go in and sign all the closing paperwork. Once the lender initiates the closing and the proceeds are wired to the attorney’s office we are closed!