Oregon Buyers

Buying Tips for Eastern Oregon Real Estate

So you are thinking about purchasing a home!  Have you done all the preliminary homework necessary to buy? The more you prepare the smoother the transaction will be during that purchase.

Finances

First of all, you will want to get your finances in order. If you are buying for the first time, this is extremely important as it will give you a great snapshot of your finances.  Sit down with a lender and go over all your income and debts and find a suitable figure to work with. The lender will usually offer you a pre-approval letter to submit to a seller when presenting an offer. This tells the seller you are a serious buyer and can actually afford the home.

If you have bought before and plan on selling your current home before purchasing a new one, you will probably have some equity to work with.  This can sometimes reduce the interest rate on your new home and allow you more leverage with the lender.  However, although this allows you more money to put down, some sellers may hesitate at the notion that you may have to sell your current home before closing on the new one. This type of contingency is usually accepted with a clause that allows the seller to keep their home on the market in case they get a better offer. [Our affiliate in Ossipee NH real estate offers more buyers tips]

Offer

Once you have your finances in order, you can now put in an offer on a home. As experienced agents we will submit a tight, solid offer for you and go over in detail any and all issues and legal jargon that may be confusing. After an offer is on the table it is up to the seller to accept, decline or offer a counteroffer. As soon as the purchase price and details of the sale contract have been mutually accepted by both parties, your real estate agent will either deposit the earnest money check with our brokerage or with the escrow company, and that money is credited to you at closing toward your new home. If for some reason the deal falls through in most cases earnest money will be returned to you.  However, be aware that there are circumstances when the earnest money is not returned to the buyer, such as when the buyer backs out for no legal reason.  This is just another reason it is important to have a professional real estate agent assist you in the transaction of purchasing a new home.

Inspection

Once the contract has been mutually accepted by both parties, an inspection will typically take place. An inspection is important because it provides you with a  chance to learn all the in's and out's of your new home.  In addition, it also helps prepare you for any major repairs that may be needed in the future.

Closing

After the inspection is completed and any necessary repairs are negotiated and completed, you can sit back and wait for all the other parties to complete their part of the real estate transaction, such as  the title and escrow company, the lender, etc.  This is a good time to make sure you have a homeowner's insurance policy ready to go for your new residence.  When the documents are ready to be executed by the parties, the Escrow company will make arrangements for both the buyer and seller to come in separately for signing of the final documents. Once these documents are recorded with the county, and all monies are disbursed, final closing happens and you get your keys to your new home!

For more information on finding the perfect home and starting the home buying process in Union County real estate, please contact us! We would love to help put you the right home!