Buying a new home? I understand that this event is really exciting and can make you very impulsive when it comes to decisions and all. But we don’t want to ruin your life’s milestone just because of a single mistake of being unaware of the process. So here is the home buying process you might want to check on first before getting your new house.
Buyer searches for a property through various portals
-First of course you will look for houses, designs, sizes, location, neighborhood, prices. You can check different portals in looking for your new home. It’s like doing a window shopping; take your time in checking different houses, the more options you have the better. Then get into a shortlist of the houses that you liked best, from that list you will move to the next step of filtering which is the best for you until you came up with your best choice.
Buyer gets a loan pre-approval or obtains proof of funds
-Now that you already know which house to buy, get a loan approval if you are going to use mortgage or just obtain proof of funds for Cash payment. This will be needed in the process of buying your new home so secure these documents from your financial institution.
Buyer gets a buyer’s agent to represent them and assist in offers
– Now you need to get an agent who will represent you throughout the whole process. This person will not only help you with all the leg work but will also provide you legal advice, walk you through laws and legal documents that are necessary in the process, and help you draft your offer on the house that you want to buy. Also part of his responsibility is to make sure that your rights as a home buyer are secured and the standard processes and procedures are followed.
Respective agents will exchange offers and /or counter offers
– After much Marketing effort, we expect buyer’s offers to come in. There could be just one or multiple buyer’s offer for a property. It is the seller’s agent duty to gather them and submit it to the seller for review and approval. We can technically call this the negotiation phase, wherein the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent are in communication and discussion through offers and counteroffers. The price, conditions, requests, timelines are discussed until the buyer and seller come into an agreement.
Purchase agreement is signed Escrow phase begins
– Once the contract has been signed by the seller and all parties involved in the transaction, it is called the contract ratification. Escrow Phase begins. This is the process in which documents are being kept by a third party administrator and is held until the closing of the transaction. The turnaround time for this phase depends on how the buyer will pay for the property.
The mode of payment that you will use will determine the turnaround time you will have in the escrow phase.
Cash – 15 days
Loan – 30 days
Renovation Loan – 45 days
Escrow closes once a new deed is recorded in the buyer’s name
– This is the end of the sale process. There are a lot of events before we can finally close the transaction. Exchange of keys, all financial terms and obligations are settled- to the seller, the agents
(buyer’s and seller’s), the Escrow Company, and all the other vendors and the deed or the title is now under the name of the new owner.
A Slice of Heaven 