There’s always a degree of stress involved in a buying a home, and it’s unavoidable- moving away to a new area, getting situated in new surroundings, and saying goodbye to what you know and are comfortable with can be difficult. That being said, the process can be made much easier by taking simple, well-defined steps that have been laid out by professionals in the space. Here’s a 15-step guide to the home-buying process, which you can use to ensure for a smooth, relaxed transition into your new home:
- Decide Where you Want to Live
While most people already know where they want to live, others will need to do some research into the different areas worth occupying. By reaching out to friends and family members, searching the web, or even driving around, you’ll be able to identify the right location for your new home.
- Set a Budget
By determining what you can afford early in the process, it’ll be significantly easier to identify potential homes for purchase (and, not to mention, skip the oftentimes-unpleasant task of saying no to homes that you’ve fallen in love with due to a high cost). Online calculators can help with this, as can competitive mortgage professionals who are generally open to providing a no-obligation consult about mortgage financing.
- Obtain a Mortgage Pre-Approval
By obtaining a mortgage pre-approval, you’ll immediately gain the leverage of a qualified buyer (which can come in handy when negotiating price and terms on the house that you’d like). This step, while important, can be time-consuming, so doing it early will also save a great deal of stress down the road.
- Choose a Realtor
Given the high cost of real estate in New Jersey, it’s vitally important that anyone seeking to buy a home in the state (or sell one, for that matter) has a professional broker who’s able to executive their wishes and best interests in a straightforward, competent fashion. Look for experience, buyer representation, education, and a full-time agent status as important qualifications of potential brokers.
- Set a Timetable
While most people find their new home within two weeks of starting the search, the average amount of time elapsed from finding a new home in NJ to closing is 60 days. With this in mind, you’ll want to set a timetable that’ll give you all the space you need to find, close, and move into your new home!
- Look for your Home
This is, quite possibly, the most exciting part of the home-buying process- looking for the home! With your budget and preferred area in mind, taking drives to potential homes for purchase can be a liberating and highly enjoyable process.
- Make an Offer
Once you’ve found the home you’d like to live in, you’ll want to make an offer. Make sure the offer is in writing, isn’t set too high (or too low), and is done with a clear head. As you move forward in the home-buying process, you’ll need to rely on your agent for counsel and help with documentation more and more- your agent will likely provide you with the needed paperwork to complete this step.
- Contract Negotiations, Acceptance
It’s quite common for an initial offer to buy a piece of real estate to be countered by the seller, and at that point, the price and terms will be negotiated through each party’s agent. Once the terms have been set (you did hire a skilled negotiator, right?), both parties will need to sign and initial the revised contract.
- Attorney Review
Once the contract has been completed, it should be sent to both parties’ attorneys for review. The review process can take a couple of business days, though some contracts will allow for more time. While the contract is being reviewed (and it doesn’t seem that most people know this), either party can cancel the contract without penalty or consequence. Make sure your attorney specializes in real estate transactions and is knowledgeable of the area and any issues that may arise.
- The Contract Phase
Once the attorney review has been completed, you’ll then be under contract to buy the home! You’ll want to have the home inspected by a licensed NJ inspector, and having the inspection scheduled during attorney review (so that the process can be expedited) would behoove you, assuming you’d like to move in sooner rather than later. Generally, one inspector will check out the home’s structure, electrical network, plumbing system, and HVAC, as well as test for radon and inspect for termites and other pests. You’ll want to ask your attorney and agent for guidance in regards to which components of the home should be tested, depending on the type of home.
- Negotiate for Defects
No house is going to be perfect- period. During the inspection, the inspector will tell you the good and bad parts of the house, and leveraging the negative components of the report might allow for a lower home price. Minor issues are to be expected, but buyers should generally expect to have a leak-free roof on a structurally sound home with major systems in working order.
- The Other Details
Once the mortgage appraisal has been done and your final commitment has been made available, your attorney will then order the survey, title search and flood certification. Be sure to get the homeowner’s policy in place to begin on the day of closing, and secure a paid receipt for the first year’s insurance at closing (which usually takes 2-3 weeks to secure).
- Call the Movers!
Unless you have a small amount of furniture and other personal effects to move, you’ll want to consider hiring a mover to help with the process. Movers generally aren’t all that expensive to hire, and it’s one less step to worry about along the way.
- Walk through Inspection
In the 48 hour period prior to closing, you should consider inspecting the house after its former residents have moved out to make sure everything’s in order. This step isn’t wholly necessary, but it’s a best practice that you’ll be happy you followed, regardless of whether you’ll find anything troublesome or not.
- Closing Celebration
Make sure you know how much money is due at closing by talking to your lawyer about the particulars of the contract, and prepare for a bad case of writer’s cramp! The money due at closing will likely be due in certified funds, a bank check, or a wire, so allow time for taking care of the transfer on the day itself.
- Enjoy your New Home!
Now that you’ve gone through the process of buying a home, you can tackle the best step of all- living there! It can be difficult to make the transition from one home to another, especially if there’s a geographical shift involved, but it can be extremely rewarding for those that are ready for the change and willing to do their homework. Enjoy!
Source: Where to Live in NJ