The Buying Process

A good place to begin is by reviewing your financial readiness so do a financial wellness check to review your credit, ensure that all monthly expenses are covered, and put off making large purchases as you put aside funds for your downpayment. Often times life events will dictate when you should move e.g a job transfer, your kids are off to college, or your family is growing and you need more room. Maybe you have been considering buying an investment property or a second home. Once you’re ready to begin looking, follow these steps to make the process smooth with less stress and fewer surprises! 

The short answer is no. There is no way to accurately predict market shifts and dips or when interest rates might go down. Typically, when rates go down buyer demand increases which causes more competition among buyers for limited inventory. When rates are at a mid point, it may actually provide you with an opportunity to have more homes to choose from and more time to make a decision. If you have a slightly higher mortgage rate now, you may be able to refinance later when rates dip down to a level that it makes financial sense.

Like the sellers, you deserve someone in your corner to represent your interests and advocate for you. You want an experienced professional who will help you navigate the nuances in the art of negotiating and navigate any challenges that arise during the contract to close period. When you identify new listings that fit your unique criteria from the curated search we set up for you, we analyze current market data for that specific home, previous area sales and the current market landscape and translate all these factors into a smart strategy to position you for a positive outcome once you decide on a home to pursue.

Buying a new home is one of the biggest life decisions you’ll ever make. When interviewing real estate agents to help you buy your home, be sure to ask these important questions: Are you a licensed REALTOR? What challenges might I face in the current market? Do you sell homes in the area I am looking? How long have you been in business and are you a full time realtor? How will you help me to make a competitive offer and negotiate the best price? Do you have a list of service providers that I will need to make a purchase?

Typically, you can expect a 30-60 window for a traditional resale home purchase. That said, every home purchase follows it’s own timeline based on many factors including the sellers preferences and your loan process.

It depends. If you have equity in your current home, it is possible to secure a bridge loan or home equity loan that you can use for your downpayment to purchase your new home. We can then stage and market your current home once you move out. This requires some risk tolerance and confidence in the current market conditions that your home will sell in a reasonable amount of time. You should expect to carry two mortgages for at least 1-3 months. We can go into more detail about the pros and cons of this path and explore other options.

A little investment up front can potentially save you lots of money down the road. An inspector will check for any serious issues with your home before buying and provide you with a detailed report on the systems in the home and their age. We have a roster of go-to inspectors, contractors, lenders, attorneys, and other service providers, curated over years of experience helping buyers in our local market. 

The Due Diligence Period is a provision in our NC Offer to Purchase that specifies a negotiated time period for you to perform a thorough analysis of the home and to investigate any other factors that are important to you in the purchase. If you are obtaining a loan, you will submit your loan application and the lender will order an appraisal. Once we obtain the home inspection, we may negotiate repairs with the owners. The buyer pays a negotiated non refundable fee to the seller for the negotiated due diligence time period. This is a separate fee from the earnest money deposit which is held in the trust account of the closing attorney. You have the option to terminate the contract up until 5 PM on the negotiated date without penalty. That said, you will then be entitled to a refund of any earnest money paid, but you will not receive a refund of the due diligence fee.

The buyer typically pays for the majority of the closing costs, but this is often determined by contractual terms set between the buyer and seller.

In North Carolina, a real estate attorney will prepare the closing documents and perform the title search during the contract period. We will arrange a closing appointment at their office to sign the closing documents and the new deed. You will receive the keys to your new home as soon as the attorney has recorded the new deed at the county where the home is located. Now it’s time to celebrate!!