You and the seller have agreed upon a price for the house you want to buy. What do you do next? This is the part of the transaction that most people feel is the easiest part yet can be the most difficult part. There are steps to be taken to ensure you have a smooth closing.
First, as soon as you and the seller sign the offer to purchase with the agreed upon terms contact your mortgage broker. Your mortgage broker then will need to put in the system the numbers and calculate out yoru monthly payment with the taxes.
Second, find out when the mortgage broker is going to order the appraisal. All mortgage transactions are subject to the appraisal. I have noticed today it is not necessarily the dollar amount that is affecting the appraisal as much as it is the condition of the home. If you are purchasing a bank owned home you want to make sure that the appraisal is done quickly. Banks will generally not do repairs to a house and some appraisals may require certain reparis to be done in order to qualify for the mortgage.
Third, get together with yoru Realtor and schedule a home inspection on the home. There is only so much you can see with the naked eye. A qualified home isnpector will give you a full breakdown of the condition of the home. You will be able to assess how the home was cared for and what immediate repairs are needed and what to budget for in the future. Depending on the repairs needed you may be able to ask the seller to do those repairs.
Fourth, get all the necesdsary paperwork over to the mortgage lender quickly. You probably have a time frame in which you will need to close by. The longer you wait to get the necessary documents to the mortgage broker the more likely you will not be able to close on time.
Fifth, find an attorney to do the closing for you. In North Carolina the attorney takes care of preparing the necessary documents to close. They also do the title search on the house to make sure that there are no outstanding liens not being paid on the house. You will want to know that as soon as possible.
Sixth, shop around for homeowners insurance. If you have never owned a home before the best place to start is the company you have your auto insurance with. A lot of times they will give you a discount for having both auto and home insurance together.
Seventh, prepare for the move...It is the most exciting time buying a home. However; you have to make arrangements to have the utlities turned on in your name effective the day you close. You can contact the utlities in advance and give them the date of your closing and they will be able to automatically switch it over on that day.
Eight, go to the closing. The process may seem long and sometimes stressful. But after the search and the inspections this is the moment you have been waiting for. Make sure you have everything the attorney and mortgage company asked you to bring. Sign the papers and you are now proud homeowners.
Following these eight steps will help ensure you have a smooth transition from finding a home to closing on a home.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com
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