It’s a Great Time To Buy a Home

When choosing a buyer’s agent, it is important that you have every confidence in the agent’s ability to represent your best interests. When purchasing a property in today’s market, it is not unusual to find more than one buyer trying to secure the same property.

Because of the competitive real estate market, your agent must be educated, aggressive, know current values, and also be respected by their peers. A reputation for high ethical standards and attention to detail is a must when negotiating for that desirable property.

A smart listing agent will not advise a seller to consider price only – there are many additional factors that an agent should keep in mind. One important factor here is the agent's competency of representation and ability to achieve a successful closing.

Before you get started, do some homework or just give us a call.

This handy Buyers Guide will show you some things to keep in mind as you are hunting for that home of your dreams.

  • Starting

  • Search

  • Your Agent

  • Loan

  • Offer

  • Process

  • Insurance

  • Closing

Finding the Right Home

How much house you can afford is largely dependent on how large a mortgage (basically, a home loan) you can handle.

Please note that Maloof Properties is not a lender. However, consider using a simple mortgage calculator (available online or through a lender) to see whether you can roughly afford to pay the monthly mortgage on the kinds of homes you have in mind.

We also encourage you to make application with a lender before you start looking for a home. This is called getting pre-approved for a loan; it will tell you exactly how much you can afford and may make the closing process go faster.

But, remember that owning a home involves more than a monthly mortgage. You’ll also have to consider money you’ll need to have at hand when you make an offer, when you close on a home and on a monthly basis after the home is yours.

Payments you may have to make when you submit an offer and at closing include:

Earnest money, usually 1% to 5% of the cost of the house, which you pay as a deposit on the house when you submit your offer. It is your proof that you are a serious buyer

Down payment, usually 10% to 20% of the cost of the house (but, depending upon your loan product, sometimes less), which you must pay at closing

Mortgage insurance, paid by borrowers making a down payment of less than 20% Closing costs, usually 3% to 4% of the cost of the house, to pay for processing all the paperwork

Don't forget the day-to-day expenses you may incur once you own that home.

This includes:

  • Utilities
  • Homeowner or condo association dues
  • Property taxes
  • City and/or County taxes

Apply to the old rule – You don’t want to be house rich but pocket poor!

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