Home Buying Process For Buyers

5 Simple Things You Need To Know To

Make The Home Buying Process Easier

In reality, there are only 5 things that you need to know and do to make your home buying experience as simple as possible.

1. Get a full unconditional pre-approval for your mortgage.
Be sure to get a written "pre-approval" for your mortgage, including the amount. With this unconditional pre-approval you are in a strong position to buy a home when you're ready, rather than finding your dream home and losing it to another buyer because you were waiting on the approval, or because your lender approved you for more than you really do qualify for.

To get a FULL pre-approval, you'll need to supply your lender with documents proving your income and down payment and you'll need to authorize your lender to do a credit bureau check to ensure that there aren't any glitches that you didn't know about. Then get this FULL pre-approval in writing from the lender.

2. Find a great real estate consultant.
Once you've decided to buy a home, find a great real estate consultant. What you're looking for is a Buyer's Agent. This means that the consultant represents YOU as the buyer, rather than the person selling the home showing you the defects in the home and in the offer negotiations. They will have YOUR best interests at heart.

Really good consultants know the market, and will help you find the best match for your needs and wants. They can also recommend professional and knowledgeable mortgage consultants with whom they've worked in the past.

3. Look before you leap.
Drive around the neighbourhoods where you are considering buying a home. And do it at different times of day, or of the week. Get out and walk around and chat with neighbours. Drive to the local grocery store, laundry, anywhere that you might frequent. Visit nearby schools and see for yourself how the kids behave and how the grounds look. The point is to see if this is really the type of neighbourhood you want to live in BEFORE you make an offer.

4. Be prepared.
Make sure your offer contract has reasonable conditions included to protect you as buyer. Reasonable can be things like -- approval by a home inspector, a Status Certificate review condition would be added if you were buying a condo and a financing condition. For the long-term investment, make sure that you buy homeowner's insurance, and upgrade it as the value of your new home and its contents increase.

5. Be reasonable.
No home will be without flaws. Many times it's these flaws that lend character to older homes, but nonetheless, it will take SOME work to personalize any home. Preparing yourself with these 5 simple ways: getting a full unconditional mortgage pre-approval, 'hiring' a great buyer agent, knowing the neighbourhood, protecting yourself, and being reasonable will help make the home buying process easier for you and your family.

To Your Success in Your Home Search!