The Middle Tennessee housing market is hot right now, so before you start shopping for a home, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting into before you start! Here’s a list of things that you can expect to do when you’re buying a home:
– Speak with a mortgage lender to get pre-approved. Before you truly start searching for a home, check with a lender to see how much you can afford. He or she will want to see proof of your income and your debts and can write you a pre-approval letter from that. You’ll want to submit this pre-approval letter with your offer so that the sellers know you’re serious about buying their home.
– Work with a real estate agent to find a home that you love. Narrow down the area in which you’re looking and then work with an experienced agent to find a home that fits your criteria! Be open to homes that don’t meet all your criteria and keep an open mind as to what you could change down the road.
– Make an offer. Once you find a house, you’ll want to work with your agent to make a solid offer. In this seller’s market, you may need to act quickly and bring your strongest offer to the table. Your agent should be familiar with the area and know exactly how to handle this part to give you the best shot at getting the house!
– Do the inspection. Once you’ve negotiated with the sellers and come to an agreement, you’ll want to set up the inspection on the home. The inspector should thoroughly inspect the home and note any repairs that need to be done. From there, your agent can guide you on what repairs you want to ask the seller to do before you buy the home. This will be another period of negotiation.
– Gather paperwork to supply to your mortgage lender. Meanwhile your lender will be sending you a list of paperwork that he or she needs to secure your loan. You’ll be providing tax statements, bank statements, W-2s, etc. and will be signing what feels like 100 documents! They’ll also order the appraisal which will confirm that your new home is worth at minimum what you have agreed to pay for it.
– Close on your house. After your appraisal goes through and your financing is confirmed, it should be smooth sailing from there! A couple days before closing, you’ll do a walk through on the new home to ensure that it is in the same shape as when you agreed to buy it, and if not, you may need to negotiate some more in order to agree on a repair.
– Move! From there you can pack up your moving trucks and move in to your new home!