The process of buying a home for your family can be a fulfilling one, but sometimes it is frustrating and time-consuming. Luckily, A & N Mortgage Services, Inc., is here to make things easier for you.
Our mortgage company has years of relevant industry experience, and we can give you the guidance you need.
Whether you’re purchasing your first home, relocating to a new town, or searching for a lucrative Chicago investment property, it’s important to understand that this is a process that demands extensive research.
With A & N Mortgage Services, Inc., in your corner, you can take advantage of our vast industry knowledge and experience to ensure that you find the best home for you.
Before you launch your house-hunting expedition, please take some time to review these helpful buying tips.
1. Pre-Purchase Warning:
- Homes are expensive. To avoid incurring an excessive amount of debt, be sure that you don’t make any other large purchases around this time.
- Keep realistic expectations regarding price and housing features. Some features of your home cannot be changed without paying for costly reconstruction.
- To assist the loan approval process, you should keep the funds in your accounts stationary and try to minimize the number of transfers you make during this time.
2. Housing Types
Prior to investing in a property, you should determine which housing type (condominium, townhouse, single family) will best complement your short- and long-term goals.
3. Getting Pre-Approved
Your ability to buy a new home depends on your ability to borrow. You should obtain pre-approval for a loan prior to beginning the search for your new home.
If you can pre-qualify for a home loan, this will help you figure out your price range so you won’t waste time looking at properties outside your budget.
4. Selecting a Realtor
You should pick a realtor you consider trustworthy and attentive. You will be working closely with this person, so it’s important to have a realtor with whom you can get along well.
If the agent you select is relatively new and inexperienced, it’s a good idea to verify the agent’s license and see if you can determine whether they have a good reputation.
5. Needs Versus Wants
When shopping for a home, you should differentiate your needs from your wants. Everyone has a mental image of their ideal house, including various styles, layouts, and features. But no house will contain everything you’re looking for, unless you take it upon yourself to design your own home.
Your best course of action is to begin by listing all the features you really need, and then create a second list of all the features that aren’t truly necessary. Separating your wants and needs like this will get you in a new home faster and save you a lot of time.
6. Research the Surrounding Area
Before settling on a deal, you should research the neighborhood where you plan to live. If you have kids, be sure to take a look at the schools, clubs, and sports programs in the area. Also, you should take into consideration how far you will be from local stores, freeways, and restaurants.
Taking these steps will give you a realistic view of what daily life is like in the new neighborhood. You can ask your realtor for information if you have trouble finding it yourself.
7. Educate Yourself
For most people, the real estate sector and its terminology tends to be mysterious and forbidding. If you haven’t spent a significant amount of time inside this industry, it’s likely that you will become confused by its practices and specialized vocabulary.
You may not know about, for example, jumbo loans or FHA loans, or how these are relevant to your particular circumstances. Fortunately, you can use the Internet to learn enough to be able to keep up with conversations and read documents relating to the buying process.
8. Making a Decision
It goes without saying that everybody wants to buy the home that’s right for them. Whether you’re a single person or in a marriage, in general, more than one person will be involved in making this decision.
When you schedule an appointment to look at a house, be sure that everyone involved in the buying decision, including anyone whose opinion is valued by the decision-makers, can be present at that particular time. Unless all these parties are involved, you’ll probably be wasting your time.
9. Placing a Bid
During this phase of the home-buying process, it can be very difficult to separate your emotions from a particular property. To boost your chances of purchasing a house that you have your eyes on, you should shorten the time frame of your bid. This tactic effectively minimizes the amount of time in which the seller can shop your bid against other offers.
10. Have an Open Mind
It’s best to maintain an open mind while you go through the showing process. This means that you need to consider all the possibilities offered by a particular home.
Not everything will be perfect, so it’s best to bear in mind that certain features will be easier to alter than others.
While looking at your prospective home, try to visualize the way it will look with your furniture and stylings. Painting walls and replacing carpets is fairly easy while expanding rooms or knocking out a wall can be substantially more difficult.
11. Get a Professional Home Inspection
To avoid unpleasant surprises, you should arrange a professional home inspection prior to the closing to ensure that you know what you’re buying.
The inspection should involve a thorough exploration of the property’s exterior and interior, including plumbing, heating, air systems, electrical systems, doors, and windows, as well as the roof and basement.
This will allow you to spot any defective components or areas that may have been previously overlooked. Without this inspection, you could be in for a nasty and expensive surprise later on.