Looking to purchase a home?
We can help make this process simple!
If you've decided to buy a house, you may be wondering where to begin . From choosing the home and applying for your loan, to negotiating the contract, conducting inspections, and eventually closing the transaction, you’ll have to juggle a number of tasks simultaneously, ranging from the fun to the tedious. The preview below will give you an idea of what’s ahead.
Step 1: Get Your Financing In Order
The first step in buying a new home is meeting with your lender to determine what amount you can afford to pay. You’ll want to have a pre-approval letter to submit with your offer so that the buyer knows your offer is legitimate. There are two parts of the purchase that you'll need to prepare for: your down payment and your mortgage. If you can make a down payment of 20% or more of the purchase price, you'll have an easier time qualifying for a loan and avoid paying private mortgage insurance (PMI). A good lender will be able to help you look at your options and find the best loan for your situation.
Step 2: Hire a Real Estate Attorney and Engage a Realtor to Assist Finding a Home
After you have gotten pre-approval from your lender, you should find a competent real estate attorney to represent you and provide your owner’s title insurance and conduct the closing on your behalf. In addition, even though you can find a lot of information on available homes, if this is your first home we would highly recommend working with a competent Realtor. A Realtor can give you advice on the housing market and make sure you don’t overpay by helping you negotiate the best price for your home.
Step 3: Look at Homes and Make an Offer on the House You Want
This is the fun part, where you get to look at homes and present the seller with a written offer to buy the house. The standard offer form will require you to state your proposed purchase price, where you expect to obtain financing, what conditions or "contingencies" you're attaching to the offer, how quickly you're willing to close the deal, and more. Your Realtor will be able to help you make the offer, or in the event that you don’t want to hire a Realtor, our office can help you make the offer in a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) situation. We assist with drafting the contract and helping to make sure that all of the necessary clauses are included to protect all parties.
Step 4: Dealing With the House's Physical Condition
Whether new or old, no house is in perfect condition. An important part of the homebuying process is finding out about the house’s condition from the seller, investigating its condition on your own, and protecting yourself against problems that will arise in the future.
Under Kentucky law, if you are working with a Realtor, the seller is required to disclose problems that they know of concerning the house -- issues like leaks, termites, a faulty foundation, past water or fire damage, and more.
No matter how informative your seller seems to be, you'll still want to have your own inspections done by a qualified home inspector and pest inspector. If any issues are found during these inspections, you would negotiate with the seller for repair of the items, depending on what your purchase contract says.
Step 5: Closing the Deal
Events start moving very quickly toward the end of the house-buying process. Your purchase contract will contain a closing date and all your activities will be geared toward wrapping things up by then. Immediately after the home inspection is completed, your lender will order the appraisal, and will additionally request the title insurance policy and closing from our office. We’ll be working together with your lender to make sure everything is completed in a timely manner.
Stay focused on the big picture. Little issues will come up that need to be finalized, such as changing utilities, minor repairs at the final walkthrough, and final information requests from your lender.
Our office will be in touch with you to schedule the closing, and when you come to closing, you’ll need to bring a cashier’s check or wire to pay for your cash to close. You’ll need to bring your drivers license to verify your identity, and we’ll work with you to get all of the closing documents signed so that the home is transferred into your name.
After closing, the home is yours!