For Buyers
While buying a home is an exciting time in one's life, it is also a complex legal binding agreement that that involves a financial commitment. For most people, it is one of the most important decisions they will make. Real Estate laws vary greatly from state to state and rapidly change, and it's improtant to make sure that your are informed of Real Estate laws affecting you. An experienced Real Estate Professional can help you understand and guide you through this complex process. Our goal is to help our clients find the best home for the best price and make wise investment decisions. By knowing the market trends in our area and supplying neighborhood and school information, we help our clients identify good buying opportunities. Buyer representation is a free service to the buyer in Georgia, because the sellers pay the commissions.
Buyer Client Services
- As your Realtor we represent your best interests in the sales transaction
- Provide listings and updates by email for your review
- Promise to show you all properties in the area that meet your criteria.
- Provide you with neighborhood comparable and tax information for your area of interest when you are ready to make a home buying decision and help you analyze the findings
- Notify you of concerns with home construction issues
- Keep you informed of market conditions, school rezoning issues, and local politics in the area
Steps to take before you start looking for a home
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Check your credit score and straighten out any errors or credit issues before going any further. You should check your credit with all 3 credit reporting agencies (Experian, Transunion, and Equifax) You can pull your credit score for free once a year.
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Determine how much you can afford - Your price range for a home will be determined by your incomes, credit rating, monthly expenses, down payment, and current interest rates.
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Shop for a home loan - After getting your credit score; talk to several lenders and compare costs and interest rates. Many lenders offer FHA Loans with lower down payment requirements. It is important that you not let several different lenders pull your credit more than 3 times during this period. You should be able to get a quote from a lender if you know your own credit score without the lender having to pull your credit. Many lenders offer FHA Loans with lower down payment requirements.
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Get loan preapproval - After choosing a lender, get a loan preapproval letter for a loan amount, because you must have this in order to make an offer. Get a Good Faith Estimate of your closing costs. It is important to avoid buying big ticket items, such as a car until after you have closed.
Searching for a home
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Choose a Realtor - Buyer representation is a free service to the buyer in Georgia because the seller pays the commissions on the sales transaction on the home purchase. It is important to choose an experienced Realtor who can advise and guide you through the complicated legal process to ensure that you make an informed decision.
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Become familiar with your home market - you should visit several homes in your price range and compare the homes that fit your criteria so you will recognize a good buying opportunity. A Realtor has access to the complete Multiple Listing Service (MLS) with all the current information on all listed homes by every Real Estate company and can streamline the process by making appointments and showing you all the homes you would like to see without having to go through several different agents and different schedules. Good Realtors also understand construction and property issues that could impact you later on, and a good Realtor will point out these potential problem areas.
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For Sale By Owners (FSBO) - Sometime homebuyers decide that they want a home that is "For Sale By Owner" thinking they can save money. Many times the FSBO is over priced by the seller or may have undisclosed defects. On a home listed by a Realtor, the seller will provide you with a Sellers Property Disclosure Statement that should list any problem areas with the home and repairs are negotiable.
Making an offer
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Making an offer - after deciding on a home to purchase, you will need to make an offer by signing a contract (Purchase and Sale Agreement) with the seller. At this time, negotiations between buyer and seller will settle issues of price, possession date, repairs, and closing costs paid by seller. This document spells out the rights and obligations of both buyer and seller. When an agreement has been reached, it is binding on both parties. Furthermore, issues overlooked by the contract are not binding on either party. This is not the time to save money. If you are not working with a good Realtor, you will need to hire an attorney to review and advise you prior to making an offer.
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Get a home inspection - Your offer should be contingent on a home inspection. An inspection will reveal the condition of the home, and can help you avoid buying a home that needs major repairs or has major defects.
The closing
- The buyer has the option of choosing his own closing attorney, or his Realtor can recommend one. The closing attorney always represents the lender at closing
- Lender fees - Closing costs include lender fees for loan processing, underwriting and establishing an escrow account
- Third party fees include attorney fees, title search, lender title insurance fees, and prorated HOA fees
- Government fees include deed recording, transfer tax, prorated property taxes
- Escrow and interest fees include homeowner's insurance, loan interest, real estate taxes
Your lender will give you the estimate of your closing costs in the Good Faith Estimate.
Keep in mind that the best protection a Buyer has is an experienced Realtor on their side of the negotiating table advising them and representing their best interest. We would love the opportunity to help you.
