The Ultimate Home Buying Process Guide

If you are thinking about purchasing real estate, this post is for you. You are about to endeavor one of the largest financial transactions of your life. This ultimate home buying process guide will provide an outline for a successful outcome.

Preparation is a key indicator for success in real estate.

Often times potential home buyers seem to hold off on reaching out to professionals when they start their real estate journey. That is actually one of the very first things that you should do when you decide you are going to buy a home. Reach out to a real estate agent, or multiple agents, to establish a relationship. It’s very likely that working with a real estate agent in your market will help you garner the best results.

What if I don’t want to work with a real estate agent?

If you feel you’d like to forgo a relationship with a licensed real estate agent, then read on and send us a message on our contact form asking for our Top Tips for Buying a Home without a Realtor©.

Ultimate Home Buying Process Guide: 11 Steps to Success

1. Interview Real Estate Agents & establish a relationship.
2. Find a good lender
3. Figure out what sources you will use to search online for your home.
4. Tour homes
5. Determine where the value lies on the home you like
6. Draft your offer
7. Submit your offer
8. Negotiate your offer
9. Navigate offer contingencies
10. Schedule the final walkthrough & closing
11. Plan your move

Each of these home buying process steps seems easy at first glance, read on for inside tips that are not common knowledge.

1. Interview Real Estate Agents & Establish a Relationship

So many people seem to skip this step, and it is really one of the most important ones. It’ll make or break your success. Without a GREAT (and I stress GREAT) real estate agent on your side, this process will be more difficult to navigate. I do think that there are some Buyers out there that are savvy enough to maneuver the home buying process on their own. However, most people are going to want/need a real estate professional to guide them through the process.

Things to consider when choosing a real estate agent

1. Hire someone who will represent your best interests. In order to do this, you need to find an agent who is fearless. This means that they are ok with the idea that you are going to request hard work and perfection. Sounds crazy that I have to say this, but trust me…I do, and you should take this advice. HOLD.THEM.ACCOUNTABLE.
2. Careful hiring a top producer! If your budget isn’t high end, then chances are the top producer is not going to give you the time of day. They will likely pass you on to one of their minions. Yep, you read that right…you are their scrap. Agents who cannot brave the industry on their own, pair themselves with top producers on “teams” in order to gain experience. You do not want to be a new agents guinea pig, nor do you want to be an afterthought of a top producing agent. (Note: it’s possible there are top producing agents who will take you on as a client, and/or their “minions” are actually quality agents. Pay attention!)
3. Make sure your real estate agent has enough experience. You are going to want someone who has been in the business for at least 3 years, and has closed a minimum of 30 homes.
4. Hire an agent who has lived in the community you want to move to. It blows my mind that some people move to new cities and then decide they want to be a real estate agent. How on earth are they going to know enough about the city and each mico-market? I just don’t believe it is possible.
5. Discuss their commission and how they get paid. Each state is different. Currently there are oodles of lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors© and many of the top nationwide brokerages in regards to buying side commissions. Things are changing in some markets, so ask the uncomfortable question.

 2. Find a Good Lender

The two most essential people on your real estate team are your real estate agent and your lender. You will want to interview a few lenders to find who has the best rate AND the best service. Make sure that your lender is available to connect with over the weekend and during evenings. These are the most popular times that offers get drafted. If you cannot get a hold of your lender for pertinent information in a timely manner, then find someone who will be available when you need them.

3. What sources will you use to find your home online?

Most likely your real estate agent’s access to MLS will be the very best source for real time information. Some MLS’ will have access to “coming soon” listings. This is one of the very best tools your real estate agent can provide for you. Your agent should also be networking with other agents to see if there are any off market opportunities. Other websites that are popular are Realtor.com, Trulia.com, Redfin.com, Zillow.com. It’s hard to find accurate data.

Remember that either real estate agents, or assistants, are who input data in to MLS. So human error is a possibility. Also, sometimes I’ve found incorrect information on Zillow. Such as Zillow showing that a home sold less than a year ago, when in fact the Sellers may have changed who is named on title with a quit-claim deed. Another place to pay attention to is Facebook. Part of me hates that I just said that, because I think that Facebook creates a feeding frenzy of crazy for off-market opportunities. But, it’s still a possibility. Just proceed with caution.

4. Tour homes

I suggest that you do this with your real estate agent during private showings, and try to avoid open houses. When you tour a home, you often have discussions about what you like/don’t like. This is important for your real estate agent to hear. It’s much easier to talk freely when you have a private showing scheduled as opposed to an open house. Usually the open house is filled with buyers and the listing agent. You really don’t want your commentary to be heard by any of them.

Pro Tip: Avoid saying too much while inside the house or by the front door. Most Sellers have Ring doorbells, or hidden cameras in their home and they are listening to you. You do not want to offend them, nor do you want to lose leverage by letting them know how desperate you are.

5. Determine where the value lies in the home

Once you have significant interest in a property that you have toured, you might consider writing an offer. Before you make the decision to write an offer, you’ll want to determine if the list price is accurate or not. This is where your agent is going to come in handy, if they haven’t already. Your real estate agent should be able to tell you if they think the price is accurate, too high or too low. This conversation should help you determine if you are willing to draft an offer to purchase for the home.

6. Draft an Offer to Purchase

Depending on what state you live in, either your real estate agent, or your lawyer will draft up an offer. If you are bold enough to be doing this on your own, you might be able to fill out your own offer to purchase (we do not give legal advice and suggest you discuss with an attorney before you take this on yourself). You will decide what price you’ll offer, and what contingencies will be in the offer to purchase.

Pro Tip: DO NOT let your real estate agent draft it up and then just send it over to you for e-signatures. If your real estate agent does not walk you through the offer to purchase, they are doing you a disservice. Yes it is tedious, but it is important. When interviewing agents in point #1, you should ask what their process is when writing offers. 

7. Submit your Offer to Purchase

This step is important to highlight because the delivery of your offer could make or break your success. Likely the offer will be emailed over. I suggest that an outline of the terms are in the body of the email, along with some playful (but not annoying) banter & niceties towards the Seller/listing agent. Once emailed follow up with a call to the other party. If they don’t answer, send a text. Make sure that they confirm receipt of your offer.

8. Negotiate your Offer to Purchase

Hopefully your offer gets accepted, however you may need to negotiate the terms or price to come to an agreement with the Seller. This will be done on counter offers. Sometimes people will negotiate verbally. Pay attention to how negotiations are going, ask yourself why did they choose one way vs. another.

9.Navigate the Offer Contingencies

You have an accepted offer, and now you need to comply with the terms. While you may rest on your lawyer or real estate agent to walk you through this process, remember that YOU are the one on the hook for this agreement. Do what you say: say what you do!

10. Schedule your Final Walkthrough & Closing

Each state is different how this process works. Consult with your real estate agent/lawyer to plan this.

11. Plan Your Move

Just before closing you will want to make sure that all bills for the property will transfer over in your name. (Gas, electric, water, cable, condo/HOA association). Call movers, consider U-hauls, figure out the most efficient way to transition your

 

This post was all about the home buying process.