Buying real estate can be a complicated and confusing
process…but it doesn’t have to be! Our REALTORS® at Covington Real Estate, Inc.
are equipped and ready to guide you through the process of buying property in
Bell County.
This is a brief introduction to the real estate
purchasing process. As your REALTORS®, we’ll help you navigate the entire process,
helping you from start to finish. Keep in mind that the following is a general
guideline, not a strict regimen. No two real estate deals are alike. That’s why
Covington Real Estate is here to help.
We’ve boiled down the process to six key steps:
1.
Obtaining Financing
It’s important to know how
you’re going to pay for your house before you get started. If you’re going to
pay cash, you can skip this step, but you should be prepared to provide proof
of funds to a seller. If you plan to get a loan, go ahead and talk to a lender
before you start shopping. It’s free and easy to get “pre-qualified” or
“pre-approved” (terms are often used interchangeably) for a mortgage. Doing
that now will help you to refine your search, know what you can afford, and
make your offer stronger when you’re ready to sign a contract. Ask us for
recommendations of local, reputable lenders!
2.
Going Shopping
This is the fun part…you get to
start looking at houses! This is when the dream starts to feel more like a
reality. We will work with you in searching the market to find homes that
appeal to you. Then we’ll go tour each one to see if it looks as good in person
as it does online! We’ll offer advice and opinions as you hone in on just the
right home for you. Keep in mind, our agents can show you any house on the
market, not just our own listings. We can also represent you in building a new
home. Call us to talk about all the ways we can help to represent you!
3.
Signing a Contract
Once you’ve found the house you
want, we will write & sign an offer. We’ll draw up all the paperwork for
you and then walk you through it, explaining what each part means. When you
sign it, it is an offer. After the seller signs it, it becomes a contract
(“contract” and “offer” are often used interchangeably, but the terms serve two
distinct purposes). As soon as you have a contract signed by both parties,
you’ll need to write checks for the earnest money and an option fee. The
earnest money shows the seller that you’re sincere about buying the house. If
you terminate the contract without cause, losing your earnest money is one of
the possible repercussions. The option fee buys you an option to terminate the
contract within the first few days and receive your earnest money back. Contact
one of our agents to have a more in-depth conversation about the earnest money
& option fee.
4.
Surviving the Option Period
We’ll build an “option period”
in to the beginning of your contract. This is the first 7-10 days of the
contract (the number of days may vary, but 7-10 is common). It’s a time for you
to get a home inspection, termite inspection, and any other inspections that
are important to you. In exchange for having an option period, you pay the
option fee mentioned above, typically a nominal fee, much less than the earnest
money. During the option period you can back out of the contract for any reason
and get your earnest money back. If you terminate the contract during the
option period, you’d only forfeit your option fee, plus any money you spent on
inspections. During the option period, you can potentially renegotiate the
terms of your original contract. You could ask the seller to pay for repairs,
lower the price, pay some of your closing costs for you, or any number of other
things. Once the option period expires, you are committed to following through
with the purchase. Ask one of our agents about what inspections are important
to get, as well as recommendations for local, reputable, licensed inspectors.
5.
Waiting It Out
After the option period, the
waiting game starts. There is a lot happening in the background during this
time. The lender is working on your loan & appraisal. The title company is
working on your abstract, title commitment, and title insurance policy. There
may be a survey or repairs taking place. It can be a little nerve-wracking
during this interim period because the active part is mostly over for you. But
the work being done in the background is going to protect you in the end. The
lender or title company may contact you to get additional information from you.
It’s important to respond to information requests in a timely manner to keep
the transaction & closing on track. Talk to one of our agents about how the
appraisal, title policy, and survey protect you as the buyer.
6.
Closing
Congratulations! You made it!
Closing is when you sign all the paperwork to officially transfer ownership of
your house from the seller to you. You’ll also sign your final loan documents
at closing, and then your loan will fund. Funding means that your lender sends
the loan amount to the title company, so they can pay the seller what is owed
to them. Once you close and the loan funds, you will own your new home, and you
can move in! We want to celebrate this special occasion with you. But more
importantly, we want you to understand all the steps along the way and feel
confident about your home purchase, knowing that we’ve been working hard to
protect you and advise you from the very beginning. Contact us to learn how
having an expert on your side will help you to make your dream of home
ownership a reality.
The home buying process can be very complicated and
confusing…but it doesn’t have to be! As
your REALTORS®, we’ll help you through the entire process, so that everything
should go smoothly. You bring your
dreams, and we’ll bring our expertise, and together we’ll find the perfect
place for you!