Home Buying Tips

A dream home is about how you feel when you enter it and how you can immediately envision your life will play out there. It’s about your life and your dreams, not just real estate. Making haste in buying your dream home is never the right step, and here are some tips that will help you.

Home Visit

We'll arrange your visit to your selected homes together and in person. We will be there at all steps to determine the best home for you.

How Can I Make The Most Of My Time When Visiting Homes?

What Should I Expect When Visiting Homes?

How Many Homes Should I Visit?

What Should I Look For When Visiting Homes?

You must look beyond the staging and decorative items and check the home's condition.
Keep track of photos and notes and consider possible home improvements.
Check out the outside of the property and the neighborhood. Your agent can access neighborhood insights and data to help inform your decision.
Check the route, schools, shops, restaurants, parks, etc.
If the property is a condo or is located in a homeowners association, find out the fees and rules to see if you can live with them.

Making an Offer

Consult with us to submit an offer when you have a clear list of properties.

What Should I Include With My Offer?

Your agent will have the most recent standard purchase offer forms that comply with state and local laws.

The price, terms (such as a request for closing cost).
The target date for closing.
Earnest money deposit – your agent can advise you about how big your deposit should be based on local customs and current conditions.
Request for final walk-through and confirmation of the time limit for the offer.

What Are The Most Common Contingencies?

Financing.

Unless you’re paying cash, it’s typical to write your offer with a contingency clause that lets you off the hook if you can’t finalize your mortgage within a certain number of days. Even though you the pre-approval for a loan, it’s smart to protect yourself.

Home inspection

Your offer can depend on a satisfactory home inspection report within a certain number of days, and this protects you if the inspection uncovers expensive necessary repairs.

What Happens If I Face Multiple Offers?

You can face competition from other purchasers in a competitive housing market. In that situation, your agent is your best resource for developing a plan to have your offer accepted. Your agent can position your offer effectively because they can access real-time market data. If more than one offer is made, the sellers may:

Accept the best offer.
Counter all the offers to get a better price and terms.
Counter one offer that’s close to what they want.

What Is A Counteroffer?

Execute Contract

Keep in close communication with your agent during the vital time between receiving an offer and signing a binding contract to have all the information necessary to make informed decisions.

What Should I Expect To See In The Contract?

Ask your agent to explain such key points in your contract:

Information accuracy, including your name's precise spelling and the address of the property
The contract's effective date and move-in date.
A list of possible conditions, like the sale being contingent on finance, an appraisal, a positive house inspection, and maybe the sale of your current residence.
Property disclosure information from the seller.
A list of required inspections.
In some cases, such as if your offer is contingent on the sale of your home, the seller may add a “kick-out” clause, which means that the seller could accept another offer if one is made before your home is sold.

How Do I Know When To Negotiate And When To Let Go?

Your agent can guide you, but you must decide how much you want a particular property and what you’re willing to accept to get it. You may want to let go when:

A bidding war raises the cost unreasonably.
The house's evaluated value is less than what you're offering.
A home inspection reveals flaws that would cost a lot of money.
The vendors refuse to carry out modest repairs.
You become aware of homeowners association regulations that will not benefit you.

What Are Common Contract Pitfalls I Should Avoid?

Your agent will help you watch out for:

Unrealistic deadlines: You'll need time to plan a house inspection, obtain the report, and arrange for financing.
Missing deadlines eliminates your ability to terminate the agreement and keep your deposit.
Items that do not convey with the property: Ask your agent to confirm any communications from your lender if you are unsure.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the most common reasons for contracts to fail or delay are home inspection, financing, or an appraisal issue. Contact a Keller Williams agent to help you navigate the complexities of a real estate contract.

Schedule Home Inspection

You should arrange your home inspection as soon as your offer is accepted. Rely on your agent to recommend reputable home inspectors if you're buying during a busy season when it could be difficult to find an inspector.

What Is A Home Inspection?

Your home inspector will examine over 1,000 systems, appliances, and building components to determine their condition. You'll receive a written report that lists probable difficulties and potential maintenance problems.

Whether the report makes you want to back out of a deal or demand that the sellers make repairs is up to you. An "information only" inspection is another option if you want to buy the house as-is but still want to know about its condition.

What’s Included In A Home Inspection?

What Should I Watch For During The Home Inspection?

I’ve Got The Home Inspection Report; Now What?

You can ask the inspector the following questions, and you and your agent can decide whether to bargain on anything in the inspection report:

What are the major & minor issues?
What needs to be done to resolve any flagged issues?
Can you give me an estimate of the cost of any repairs?
Do I need another inspection by an electrician or a structural engineer?

Your experienced real estate agent can be the best adviser to help you understand the implications of the home inspection.5

Get A Home Warranty

Some home sellers pay for a home warranty that covers them while their home is on the market and conveys to the buyers after the sale. You can ask your real estate agent for advice about negotiating for the sellers to pay for a warranty or buying one yourself.

What Is A Home Warranty?

Do I Need A Home Warranty?

A home warranty can give you peace of mind if you're buying an existing home, and it can be particularly important if you’re a first-time buyer. If you have plenty of emergency savings, you’re handy, or you know good contractors, you may not need a warranty.

Your real estate agent can also be a good source of contractor recommendations. Suppose you’re buying a newly built home. In that case, structural defects are usually under warranty by the builder for 10 years, and other items are typically covered for six months to two years, so you don’t usually need a home warranty.

What Should I Look For In A Home Warranty?

To choose a good home warranty, you should review:

The company’s license with your state’s real estate commission.
The fine print (where you’ll find exclusions and limitations)
What’s covered and what’s not, and the coverage limits.
Service fees and deductibles
How quickly service and claims are handled
How contractors are vetted and what happens if you use your own
Comparison between a basic warranty and an enhanced warranty

Close

Even though you could have nervousness before closing, your agent and lender should have you well-prepared.

What Should I Do Before The Closing?

Stay in close touch with your agent, lender, and title company.
Avoid lowering your credit score.
Confirm that your contract contingencies are resolved.
Finalize your homeowner’s insurance policy.
Review your Closing Disclosure form.
Arrange a wire transfer or get a cashier’s check for the funds you need for the settlement.
Schedule a walk-through of your new home within 24 hours before your closing.

What Can I Expect At The Closing?

What Paperwork Is Required To Close?

The most important documents you’ll sign are:

Promissory Note to repay the mortgage
Deed of Trust, which gives the lender the right to foreclose if you don’t repay the loan
What’s covered and what’s not
Initial Escrow Disclosure, which outlines the funds on deposit for your property taxes and homeowner’s insurance bills
The right to Cancel form states that you have three business days to cancel the transaction.

What’s Next?