Starting The Home Buying Process
Starting The Home Buying Process
Many prospective home buyers ask “what are the steps to buying a house?” Starting the home buying process should be an exciting time and not stressful experience. Common factors which create issues for some home buyers are avoidable with the proper guidance, attention to detail and through working with a qualified real estate professional.
The more you know upfront, the less you’ll regret in the end. Check out my comprehensive course for First time Home Buyers in Arkansas!
Become an Educated Buyer
We love educated buyers! But understand that purchasing a home is not a common practice for most. Countless resources – from books and websites to well-intentioned friends and relatives offer advice.
However, prepare to sort through information that, at times, seems conflicting. Real Estate laws vary from state to state, and procedures change frequently. (As I am writing, new constraints were just placed on who can qualify for a rural development loan and where they can buy).
Establishing a close working relationship with one Real Estate Agent enables you to rely on your Agent’s education and experience to navigate this complex process. If it becomes evident that your Real Estate Agent is not well versed in the local Real Estate laws, then it may be time to consider a new Agent.
Explore All Your Options
Informed home buyers will continuously review all the available media for homes in their desired areas, most likely focusing on the web.
Searching via the Internet, newspapers, magazines are all great sources, but this can be a hit or miss system since homes are usually advertised on a random or rotating basis. Therefore, you may not come across your ideal home when you happen to search. In fact, great new properties often sell before the first online ad appears on the major home search sites.
Get Professional Help
Working with a local real estate agent gives home buyers an advantage.
Making use of a home search tool like our Central Arkansas Home Finder, you can provide your desired home features and amenities to a local real estate agent who then creates system alerts in the MLS for all home listings that fit your requirements.
The Central Arkansas MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is a database system that contains every property marketed for sale by a Central Arkansas real estate brokerage. This means that you can get real time information through your real estate agent to all homes that fit your requirements and to new listings as soon as they appear.
