Where Do I Start? First Steps Toward Buying a Home
Are you interested in buying a home, but don't know where to begin? Do you call a Realtor first? A mortgage broker? Look in the newspaper or online? Just start driving around looking for signs or open houses? Buying a home can be a confusing, sometimes overwhelming experience, especially if you haven't done it before. However, it doesn’t have to be! Here are some tips to help get you started on the path to home ownership.Choose a Realtor. Your Realtor will walk you through the home buying process – from the early stages of your search, through writing an offer, all the way to the day you close on your new home. Yes, I'm biased because I am a Realtor, but I truly believe that having someone who does this every day to help you through the process can make a world of difference.
How do you choose a Realtor? You could search online and try to find one who has similar interests or special designations. However, the best way to find a Realtor is through referrals. If you ask your friends and colleagues, you'll most likely find someone who has recently bought or sold a home. Ask whether that person had a good experience with the Realtor (hopefully the answer is, "Yes!"). You want to find someone that you can get along with and trust. You"ll likely be spending a lot of time driving around looking at homes, as well as discussing personal information such as how you live, family situations, financial matters, etc.
It’s very common for people to just start searching for homes without having spoken to a lender, only to find the price range they were shooting for is not appropriate. Imagine the disappointment when you find out you can't buy that beautiful home on an acre with granite counter tops because it's $50,000 above what you can afford. Many people are surprised to find their credit isn't as good as they thought, or that even if they can qualify for a certain mortgage amount, the payments would be higher than they would expect. The fun part! Now it's time to start your search. There are countless websites that allow you to search for homes on your own. However, with access directly to the MLS, your Realtor will likely be able to do a more refined search, and will be able to send you new listings that match your criteria as they pop up.
You may decide you just want to look at homes online for a while – which is fine. In fact, spending some time looking at homes online is a good way to get a feel for what's out there in your price range, and to help determine what you really want. Once you’ve determined homes you’d like to see in person, your Realtor can show you those homes. As you look at homes in person, you’ll get an even better idea of what you would and wouldn't like, and your Realtor will get to know your preferences better as well.One word of caution – If you see a home online, or a yard sign while driving around, and you’re already working with a Realtor, call your Realtor to show you the home. It's fine to call the listing agent for more information, but if you ask the listing agent to show you the home and later decide to write an offer, your Realtor you’ve been working with may not be able to help you! If you see an open house, it's fine to attend without your Realtor, but make sure you tell the person hosting the open house that you're already working with a Realtor.
Once you've decided on a home and are ready to make an offer, many more things will happen, but we won’t go into that here. Your Realtor will help you with the rest of the process, including writing up and negotiating the offer, ordering inspections, etc.
If you have any questions about the home buying process, please feel free to contact me.
About the author:
A native Floridian, John Laibson grew up in North Miami and has called Gainesville home since 1990. After earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at the University of Florida, John spent several years at UF serving students in various disciplines, including Medicine, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Business Administration. During that time, John consistently received positive feedback from students, faculty and staff regarding his responsiveness, professionalism, and dedication.
Ater a successful career in higher education, John decided to focus on a new career in real estate. He spent years helping students pursue their educational and career goals. Now, he provides the same level of support and customer service to people taking another important step in their lives – purchasing or selling their homes.
Contact John at (352) 275-6721 or via email at jlaibson@mmparrish.com
Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish has been serving the Gainesville Real Estate market for 100 years. Our experince and reputation for excellence has helped countless people with homes for sale in Gainesville. Contact one of our realtors today to learn how Coldwell Banker M.M. Parrish can help you.
