Home Buying Process
Buying a home can be both exciting and overwhelming, which is why we are providing you with a variety of resources to help you through the experience. Whether you’re a first time homebuyer or looking for a different home to suit your changing needs, The Cindy Banks Team is always here to help!
Steps to the Home Buying Process:
Prepare your Finances
Before we begin your home buying journey, we need to find out how much you can afford. Use this mortgage calculator to estimate your budget given, your income, debt, savings and other financial obligations. Check your credit score. Make sure you can comfortably pay your full mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) each month. Remember you’ll need money up front for a down payment and closing costs as well.
Get Pre-Approved
Each Cindy Banks Team Realtor® is connected to a network of top mortgage professionals, who have access to a wide variety of unique lending options and the most advanced mortgage technology available. As a result, our clients enjoy a hassle-free experience through impeccable execution and timely communication throughout the process.
Identify Your Wants & Needs
Your Cindy Banks Team Realtor® will consult with you to discover what is truly important in your next home. Your broker will open the door to the fullness of the real estate market offerings while creating a plan that will allow you to find a home that’s as unique as you.
Find the Right Home
Once you create an account on cindybanks.com, you will have the option to set up a custom search for yourself or have a Cindy Banks Team Realtor create one for you. This will give you access to the entire Multiple Listing Service (MLS). As soon as a home is listed in the MLS it appears on cindybanks.com, including all property specifications and professional photographs. The site’s powerful search functionality makes it easy for you to find properties that meet your requirements, while a wealth of custom links provide immediate access to your broker so you can receive more detailed information.
View Your Favorite Homes
Together with your Cindy Banks Team Realtor®, you can select the homes that you would like to see at your leisure. Your broker will then work with the seller’s agent to coordinate a day and time that works with your schedule to see the home. By setting up a date to view, you can see multiple homes in a short period of time and have a clear idea of what is right for you.
Present an Offer & Get Accepted
Offer
Before an offer is even written, your Cindy Banks Team Realtor® will provide you with a snapshot of the market conditions, including listings in the area that have sold and are comparable with the property you want. This crucial information will help establish an appropriate starting offer and ensure that your offer stays competitive. Your Realtor® will then write the offer and present it with the necessary research and documentation to the seller’s agent for review. The home sale process can generate hundreds of pages of paperwork that must be exchanged, delivered and saved. The Cindy Banks Team uses a leading paperless solution through DocuSign to securely manage your documents.
Negotiate
The No. 1 skill homebuyers expect from their Realtor® is negotiation expertise. There’s an art to negotiation so that both parties can reach a mutually beneficial outcome in the transaction. Your broker will provide you with a comprehensive plan of how they will negotiate strategically on your behalf to ensure that you receive the best price and terms possible.
Under Contract
When the seller accepts your offer, you are “under contract”. This means you have a specific period of time to drop off earnest money, inspect the property, get your paperwork in order, and secure financing. Since the real estate purchase is one of the largest you’ll ever make, it’s crucial to have a team of real estate professionals to ensure that you are supported throughout your entire home buying experience. Your Cindy Banks Team Realtor® will help you assemble this team and will manage this complex transaction daily.
Final Walkthrough
In order to ensure that your future new home is in the shape that you last saw it in during inspection, we will schedule a final walk through 1-2 days before closing. We will walk through to check the home with you and relay any questions you may have. In addition to conducting a final walk through, getting home insurance and setting up utilities in advance of your move-in, you’ll want to meet with your loan officer and attorney to go over final closing costs and other financial considerations. As your closing date approaches, we will work with you to finalize the details of the transaction.
Closing
Closing is the legal process of transferring ownership of a property from one party to another. You, your attorney, the seller’s attorney, the closing agent, and the seller will gather to sign the required legal documents. The purpose of these documents is to confirm the terms of agreement between you and the mortgage lender; confirm the terms of sale between you and the seller; and legally transfer ownership of the home. At the end of the closing, you’ll walk away with a complete set of closing documents and the keys to your new home!