When you decide to purchase a home, you should start by doing two things. First, get preapproved for a mortgage loan. You cannot buy a house without one. Two, hire a real estate agent. When you pick an agent, they become your home buying agent. They will have many responsibilities to you in this process, as they will walk you through the steps of buying a house. Here are the steps the home buying agent will complete with you as you purchase a home.
1. Discuss Your Needs and Budget
Your home buying agent begins the process by discussing several things with you:
- Your budget: The agent might ask to see your preapproval letter to see how much you can borrow. The agent will also ask you how much you want to spend. Your budget dictates what homes you should view.
- Your desires in a house: Secondly, the agent needs to know what you want in a home. What features do you need and want? What needs do you have for location, size, and layout?
A home buying agent needs to know these things before going any further in the process.
2. Look for Homes that Meet the Guidelines
Next, your agent begins looking for homes that meet the guidelines of your needs and desires. The agent may search through the MLS to find homes and will filter them by location, price, and size. Once the agent does this, they may research the homes found in the search. The purpose of investigating the places is to eliminate any houses that you probably would not want. The other purpose is to locate the top few that you would probably want.
3. Show You the Homes
The agent will then talk to you about the homes that they found for you and will ask you if you want to view them. You can view all the homes or just a few. You can also view homes that you found yourself. You should view a house at least two times before putting in an offer.
4. Work Through the Offer Process with You
When you spot the house that you want to purchase, your home buying agent will work with you through the offer process. They will help you write an offer and respond to a counteroffer.
Do you have questions about buying a house or hiring an agent? If so, call an agent of your choice today.
