3 Professionals That Can Help You During The Home Buying Process
Buying a home can be a fun and exciting time in your life, but the searching and waiting for the transaction to process can be stressful and cause you anxiety. It can be helpful to hire several different professional team members who can help contribute their knowledge and expertise to help make the process less stressful for you. Here are three beneficial people you want to use during your home buying process.
Real Estate Agent
As you begin the home buying process, you can most benefit from the services of a professional and licensed real estate agent. Don't worry about coming up with the cash for their sales commission, because their commission will be split with and come from the seller and their agent.
Your real estate agent, someone from a place like Susan Li - Coldwell Banker Prime Properties, will have a great deal of resources you can use. They will have access to all the current homes for sale and will be able to search for specific homes that meet certain criteria that you are looking for. For example, they can look for homes in a specific neighborhood if you want your children to go to a certain school. If you want to look for a home built in the last five years with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a three car garage, your real estate agent can search for homes that fit those specifications.
Once you find a home you want to make an offer on, your real estate agent can search for similar homes that have sold recently to do a market comparison. This is to make sure you are making a fair-market value offer on the home you want to buy. This helps you avoid paying more for a home that it is currently worth, especially if the home is listed overprice, or for sale at a price above what it is actually worth. Then, your realtor can help you fill out and submit the offer to purchase the home and help you with all additional contracts you will be submitting during the buying process.
Home Inspector
Once you have found a home you want and you have made a purchase offer that was accepted by the seller, you are under contract to buy the home. It is recommended to hire a certified home inspector during this next process to inspect various areas of the home you are under contract to purchase. The inspector will look for any current problems or damage on the home, so the purchase contract and the home sale price can be adjusted to reflect the damage or any repairs needing to be completed.
Be prepared to pay for this service during the buying process, as it can cost you anywhere between $200 to $475 . The inspector will look at specific areas, such as the home's appliances, plumbing, electrical wiring, HVAC and ventilation, roof, and the foundation. Then, they will complete a full report detailing any items they found during their inspection on the condition of the home.
Mortgage Broker
The financing of your home purchase is a major part of the home buying process, and you should look for a mortgage broker who has knowledge of and access to a variety of funding programs. This can save you a great deal of money over the life of your mortgage loan. It is important to look for a mortgage broker who does not work for a specific bank or credit union, as they will only have access to approve you for their specific loan programs.
Your mortgage broker will ask you to collect a variety of paperwork to show your proof of income and employment, including your past tax forms. Be prepared to get these together as quickly as possible so the loan paperwork can be processed in a timely manner.
Use these three team members during your home buying process for a much smoother experience.