Buying a home can be the biggest investment a person will make in their life. This means that its our responsibility as agents to lower the anxiety level of clients, educate them, and make the process as stress free as possible. I always like to give my clients a rundown of the process upon first meeting them. I am going to share that process with you today.

Find an Agent: I cannot stress the importance of using a buyer’s agent. Please contact a local agent before you decide to purchase a home. A document that you need to be familiar with is a buyer’s representation agreement. This is a contract that states you are hiring this agent to work for you. The terms of this agreement may vary from state to state and agent to agent. FACT: I have never received compensation from my buyer’s. Every buyer I have ever worked with I received my compensation from the listing agent whom receives it from the seller.

Get Pre-Approved: Its vital to speak with a lender and spend 15 minutes getting pre-approved before searching for your home. We want to make sure first and foremost that you are aware of the costs when buying a home and that you are searching in the right price range.

Find Your Home: Once you determine the monthly payment you are comfortable with, you should then ask your agent to find homes in that price range. Make sure to be specific and PICKY. Do not rush into buying a home regardless of what outside pressures there may be. Ask for comps so you feel comfortable with the price you are paying for the home.

Write an Offer: Once you have found your home, you will then write an offer. Make sure to have contingencies in place to protect you. I will do a blog on contracts soon.

Apply For a Home Loan: Once the contract is ratified you will meet with a lender to apply for a home loan. The loan process takes on average about 28 days in the Charleston Market.

Inspection: Hire an inspector to inspect the home. Once that inspection is done and with the proper contingencies you can then decide to move forward, back out, negotiate things to be fixed or the price of the home to be reduced.

Insurance: Call different companies to get estimates on homeowners insurance. Remember that in some areas a flood policy and/or wind & hail policy may also be required. Most companies offer discounts for having your home & auto insurance through them.

Hire a Attorney: Hire an attorney to handle the closing and documentation preparation.

CL100: I try and negotiate the seller to pay for this but you should ask your agent if this needs to be done. In our market I ask all clients to make the contract contingent on a clear CL100. The main purpose of a CL100 is to look for active termites, previous termite activity or damage. This is not the only purpose.

Final Walkthrough: Sometime before closing you and your agent should do a final walkthrough of the home.

Closing: Once all of the above is done you will meet at an attorney’s office to sign the documents thus giving you ownership of the home. Make sure to review all the documents carefully and ask questions. The HUD-1 is the settlement statement. This will itemize all the closing costs to you and the sellers. Review this document with your agent and make sure everything is correct.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have completed the process of buying a home and are now known as a “home owner”.

Please keep in mind that real estate is constantly changing and all markets are not the same. Also, keep in mind that this is a blog and the process of buying a home is much more detailed but this is a very basic description and should help give you some insight into the process. Always CONSULT your agent!

Fred Holland hopes you enjoyed this blog!