The Home Buying Process

Selecting a real estate professional

When you decide it is time to start home shopping you should select an agent who you are comfortable working with and communicating with. You should always feel that you can speak freely regarding what you need and what your feeling. Your REALTOR should demonstrate professionalism at all times. But don't discount the importance of having fun and making the home buying process something you can enjoy. You and your agent will be spend a lot of time together in the home finding process so be sure you feel that time together and the process can be comfortable and enjoyable.

Identify what your home buying wants and needs are

It is important to know what it is you need. Make a list of the most important wants and needs and keep in mind that these can be two different lists. What you need are what you desire. A house on a few acres with a beautiful flower garden may seem appealing but you should consider whether you will have the time to maintain a large property with gardens. Needs are items that are necessary for you and your family. Do you need three bedrooms? four bedrooms? Is a master bath something you will need because you have a large family? Is yard fence an imprtant feature for your animals? Is it possible that someone may need to work from home and require an office space? Be sure to determine your wants and needs carefully and be sure to distinguish the two. Your agent can assist in this process and help simplify the task.

Pre-approval letter from a lender

This is a crucial step and one that could be done even before you choose a real estate professional. It is not a good idea to spend hours or days looking at properties that wind up being out of your price range. This could be wasted time for you and your agent if the pre-approval comes in under the price of the homes you had been looking at. In most cases, real estate agents are paid their professional fee only when the sale of a property comes to a close. This makes the time they iinvest valuable and a risky. A real estate agent must put forward their time searching and viewing homes before ever getting paid.

View the homes that meet your criteria

Your agent will scan the local MLS (mulit listing service) and other places then review all homes that are available in your price range and that match your needs list. At this time your agent will make all necessary arrangements and appointments to begin view the homes in person to start narrowing the list of what works and whats doesn't.

Prepare a purchase and sales agreement

Once you find the home you want it is time to prepare the paper work for an offer to purchase. All offers in Pennsylvania must be writing. Once the offer has been submitted to a seller the period of negotiations begins. This is an emotinally charged part of the buying process and is conducted by your agent as your representative. This part of the process will require some anxious waiting and patience. With the written offer we submit an earnest money deposit to show good faith in the buyer and to help strengthen the offer. You should be prepared to offer an earnest money deposit at the time of a fuly executed contract. There is no set  amount for the deposit but the amount should be suffitient to compensate the seller for taking the home off the market in the event the buyer breaches the contract. Contingencies are part of a sales agreement and are used to protect the buyer from circumstances that are out of their control and gives the buyer a chance to revoke the offer. As your agent, I will discuss these in further detail at the time of document preparation.

After the offer is accepted

Once the sellers have agreed and signed the sales agreement the offer is now fuly executed and binding. The continuation of the sales process then proceeds.

Lender approval process

The lender you have chose will need a copy of the signed sales agreement to finalize the approval process. Then an appraisal will be scheduled to determine the lenders value on the property to warrant the loan amount.

Inspection of the property

A property inspection is for the buyers protection and is a highly recommended practice. A professional inspector will evaluate the property and identify any defects in the property that may be an issue or be in need of repair before closing. As your agent, I can give you a list of licensed inspectors in the area. The fee for the inspection will be paid outside of closing and settled between the buyer and the hired inspector.

Closing date

This is the date that the buyers, sellers, real estate agents and/or attourneys/title company get together to sign and review the final documents. The title/deed is recorded from the sellers name to the buyer's name at the court house.

Pick up the keys from your agent and begin moving.

This entire process can take as little as 2 weeks or up to 4-8 weeks depending on the circumstances and issues that may arise. Be ready for potential unexpected events to occur. Your agent will keep you informed and stay in continual contact to keep you up to date on all events that are transpiring so that you will be informed every step of the way.

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