The Home-Buying Process 

Whether you’re buying a home for the first time or are selling your current home in order to pursue something new, the home-buying process is exciting. To ensure that you get as much out of the experience as possible, it’s important that you understand the steps in the home-buying process and what to expect along the way. At The Jana Caudill Team, our experienced real estate agents are happy to help — please reach out to us directly to learn more. In the meantime, here’s an overview of what to expect during the home-buying process:

1.  Know Your Budget

Perhaps obviously, the very first step in the home-buying process is to familiarize yourself with your budget. If you don’t know how much of a home you can afford, you won’t know where to direct your search efforts. If you haven’t already done so, get your finances in order and get familiar with answers to questions about how much you can afford to put down and how much you can pay in monthly mortgage payments (the recommendation is no more than 30 percent of your income). 

2. Get a Loan Pre-Approval

In most cases, you won’t be able to request a showing — and you almost certainly will not be able to make an offer on a home — unless you have secured a loan pre-approval. A loan pre-approval is a statement from a lender that says that your finances have been reviewed and based on that review, you are likely to be granted a loan of X amount of dollars. Most sellers will want to see this pre-approval letter before they even have a conversation with you. It’s also important for you so that you don’t get hooked on a home that you won’t be able to get a loan for. 

3. Get Familiar with Your Needs

Once you know how much home you can afford and have the documentation to prove it, it’s time to get really familiar with what you’re looking for in a home. Do you need three bedrooms, or four? Is that flexible? How much does the school district in which you buy matter? How many vehicles does your family have, and will that impact the size of the garage you need? Are you looking for a home that’s brand new, has been lived in for a few years, or perhaps even a historic home? 

4. See Houses

Once you know exactly what you’re looking for in a new home, it’s time to start seeing homes for sale. Spending your weekends touring open houses and requesting home showings is one of the most enjoyable parts of the process! 

5. Make an Offer

Once you find your perfect home, it’s time to make an offer. While there are a number of steps that follow this phase of the process, the good news is that you’ve nearly reached the end and you’re about to become the owner of a new home!

Get Help Along the Way from the Right Realtor

Truly, the first thing that you should do when thinking about buying a new home is to hire a skilled real estate agent. At The Jana Caudill Team, we can help. Call us today or send us a message to learn more.