Home Buyers - All You Need to Know to Purchase a Home

What Home Buyers Need to Know to Purchase a Home

A home isn’t a dream house because of its physical characteristics. It really is about how you feel when you walk through the front door. Buying a home is an exciting and complex process. From negotiating to financing to closing, there are a lot of moving pieces that can be very time consuming, costly and leave homebuyers bewildered.

KW Beltway Homes will help guide you through each phase of the buying process, offering sound advice and insight along the way. By working with professionals who know not just the ins and outs of the real estate industry, but also the specific community you are interested in, you will end up with magnificent home and wonderful experience.

Benefits to Home Buyers

FREE No-Obligation Homebuyer Consultation
Access to all areas of Virginia, DC and Maryland
40 years of combined experience
Extensive personal network of top producing agents
Access to homes before they hit the market from pre-MLS and Facebook agent groups
VIP Showing Service – we pick you up from your preferred location
Time-tested negotiating strategies for making your offer

15-25% discount on home inspection, radon inspection, moving services, cleaning services, home remodeling, asphalt driveway services and more
Direct credit from our preferred lender at settlement
Direct credit of .25% of gross sales price from our preferred title company
Free termite inspection
Settlement gift hotel certificate for up to 4 nights at preferred destination

Listen. Understand. Accomplish.

Let’s Get Started

Making an Offer

Once you have found a property you love, it is time to make a purchase offer. Making an offer is a serious move, one that should not be taken lightly. This is where our knowledge, experience and negotiating skills come into play. From this point forward, everything is important. Every little detail needs to be written down and specifically agreed on.

With our help, these are the steps involved with making an offer:

You make a written offer, usually in the form of a sales contract.
The seller accepts the offer, counters or declines.
If your offer is accepted, you move to the next step, usually a good faith deposit or earnest money.
If the seller makes a counteroffer, you either accept it or make a new offer.
If your offer is rejected, you can either make a new offer or begin looking for another property.

While all this work is detailed and legally complex, our team is qualified to do all this on your behalf.

The Process of Making an Offer

With real estate, a written offer is legally binding and there are many state, and local, laws that regulate the process. KW Beltway Homes will prepare a Residential Sales Contract that complies with applicable state and local laws.

Contingencies and Disclosures

There are several standard contingencies that will or will not be included in your offer. Contingencies are things that need to happen before the sale can be finalized. Standard contingencies include but are not limited to home inspection, appraisal, the ability to obtain financing, sale of existing home etc.

You must protect your interests and gather specific information to make a smart purchase. Seller disclosures are usually required by law. Disclosures need to be reviewed carefully before committing to a purchase.

Earnest Money Deposit

When you make an offer, you will be required to submit a deposit, or earnest money. This money is held with the title company of your choice in a non-interest-bearing escrow account as a sign of good faith. The offer agreement will detail under what circumstances that this money is forfeited (e.g., in the event you back out of the deal without a valid reason). There is no general rule of how much this deposit should be so our team will advise you at the time of making an offer what is appropriate based on our negotiating strategy.

Completing the Offer

Your offer is complete and binding when both parties sign the offer agreement. Once that’s done, it is time to close the sale. That will likely include a home inspection and starting the process of finalizing your financing through the lender.

This entire process from the initial offer through settlement, takes an average of 30 to days to complete but can be adjusted based on your specific needs. If needed, a pre-settlement or post-settlement occupancy agreement can be added as part of the sales contract.

Closing

When it comes to closing on your new home, there are a number of companies and people involved in each real estate transaction. The players could include attorneys, surveyors, appraisers, title companies, mortgage brokers, lenders, loan underwriters, the sellers, both agents, and others. Each has specific responsibilities and requirements, with one goal in mind, a seamless transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer. KW Beltway Homes is your point of contact, bringing it all together. We will coordinate the activities of all of these companies and people for you.

Any real estate transaction can have 40+ documents, with specific deadlines and delivery items. Daily we check the progress against contractual deadlines and act on our project requirements. Most of this activity goes on behind the scenes, some of it requires action on the part of either the seller or buyer and sometimes both.

Closing Day

Before you sign on the dotted line there are still a few more things to do.

Final Walk-Through Inspection.

The final inspection takes place from a week to a day before settlement, or even the day of the closing. We will visit the property to verify that all is working, that there are no extra items left behind by the seller, and everything included with your purchase is still at the property.

Home Services and Utilities.

Home services and utilities, should be transferred after or the same day that closing occurs. Moving in without electricity and water is less than ideal.

Closing

The closing agent or title company, is responsible for furnishing all parties involved with a settlement statement, which summarizes and details the financial transaction. You, the seller(s), and the closing agent will sign this statement, certifying its accuracy. If you are financing, you will sign all relevant documentation required by you lender. In the event you are unable to attend the scheduled closing, arrangements can be made to sign the documents in advance, depending on the circumstances and the notice that received. Funds remitted by you, can either be wired electronically into the closing agent’s escrow account, or a certified bank check to the in the amount specified on the settlement statement. The seller should have all property keys and any other important information for you at the closing so that you will receive these items at this time.

Buying a home, especially a first home, is a big decision. Often homebuyers spend more time researching mortgage rates and lender(s) than they spend looking for the home they end up purchasing and living in. Buying a property takes planning. There can be months packed with excitement, stress, planning, frustration, anticipation a virtual kaleidoscope of emotions. How do you mitigate the stress, contain your excitement and make a good decision? Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Take the time to craft a “wish list”.

What does the “ideal” neighborhood look like? Are you looking for access to mass transit? Walkability, child friendly, sidewalks, safety are all things to think about. Your list will naturally include things like number of bedrooms and baths. Take a step back and look at the larger long-term picture. Is a condominium a good long term investment? Or is a single-family home better? Be sure your list includes not just the “must haves”, but also the things that you know right out the gate you do not want. It is YOUR list, not your families or your agents’. Take the time upfront to define what this purchase looks like for your and your partner and the rest will begin to fall into place.

Time to visit potential properties.

With the help of KW Beltway Homes, select a few properties that interest you the most. We will preview them and make arrangements to visit them with you. We will also advise you about the potential long-term resale value of the properties you are considering.

Don’t see too many homes in one day. There is a real possibility that you will be overwhelmed and find it difficult to remember which home had the characteristics and the amenities you really liked and which one’s did not. We recommend viewing not more than 5 homes in one day.

Stay within your price range. Remember to include expenses not included in the price of the house. Taxes, association fees, maintenance, and insurance. No dream is too big and no question is too small. We are here to be your trusted advisors and help you make the most knowledgeable decision.

Home Mortgage: Pre-Qualification vs. Preapproval vs. Pre-Commitment

A “pre-qualified” mortgage approval is a non-binding, non-verified informal evaluation of your credit worthiness and home much of a home you can afford. It allows potential lender(s) to evaluate whether you meet their minimum requirements for a loan and how big that loan may be. This is an important step for those who aren’t sure whether they’re financially ready for homeownership. The information you provide is not verified, so it is like a trial run at qualifying for a mortgage. If you feel you are financially ready, have verifiable assets, stable earning history and a strong credit rating, preapproval may be the way to go.

The advantages of being “preapproved” vs. “pre-qualified” are significant to the home buying process. It tells your realtor that you are serious and that you have already started the financing process. Your chosen lender will provide you with written approval of the loan amount limit(s) and interest rate. The lender has already pulled your credit report(s) and verified other financial information. This does not mean that you are going to by-pass the underwriting process. Your lender cannot complete the final phase of approval until you have a home under contract.

Nowadays many lenders have a dedicated underwriters that actually pre-underwrite your loan and issue a pre-commitment letter. Once you locate your dream home, all they need to do is order the appraisal and title and update your financial documents. This will shorten your financing process and put you in a “pole position” if you are competing with other buyers. Ask us for a list of reputable lenders that offer pre-commitment letters!

Make sure your financial “house” is in order.

Prepare a file that contains all your important financial documents you will need to secure financing for your home. The typical file contains:

Financial statements
Bank accounts
Investments
Credit cards
Auto loans
Recent pay stubs
Tax returns for two years
Copies of leases for investment properties
401K statements, life insurance, stocks, bonds, and mutual account information.

Check Your Credit Rating.

Purchasing a home is not a good time for surprise. Your credit score will have a huge impact on how much a home you can buy, and at what price. It is recommended to check your credit rating with an experienced lending institution so that together with your real estate agent, we can determine what you can afford. The lender will research your credit ratings from the three credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.

KW Beltway Homes maintains relationships with, knowledgeable land reputable lenders in residential, construction, and commercial and investment real estate fields. We are happy to make a personal referral.