While it may seem nearly impossible to enter the Evanston Real Estate market and go through the entire home buying process before the busy holiday season hits; it can actually be a very smooth and stress free process if you know what to expect. We’ve gathered seven tips that will help you have a great home buying experience and ensure you’re settled in no time.
1. Know when it’s the right time in your life to buy- Decide whether to buy based on your life and what makes sense for you, your family, your plans and your finances. Then, use the news about what’s going on in the market to decide how to buy: what kind of house to buy, what sort of loan to use, how much to offer, and other strategies for executing your home buying plans.
2. Get a good understanding what to expect- Research as much as possible, but be sure to decide on a trusted Evanston Real Estate agent as soon as possible. They’ll be able to give you a layout of what you can expect from buying an Evanston home or condo. Ask your Evanston Real Estate agent questions such as when you’re expected to show up so you can take time off work, and when you’re expected to write checks so you can be prepared.
3. Learn how to prevent money surprises during escrow- When you first apply for a loan, you’ll receive a good faith estimate which is a standardized list of costs associated with obtaining the mortgage and a breakdown of the monthly mortgage payment due on the mortgage for which you were approved. Keep in mind this is just an estimate. When you close on escrow, you’ll pay prorated mortgage interest and property taxes from the date of closing till the end of the month. The date of closing can make a difference in thousands of dollars required to close. Ask your Evanston Real Estate agent to help you set your closing date in accordance with the cash you have at your disposal.
4. Find the right Evanston Real Estate agent- Finding the right Evanston Real Estate agent can make all the difference! Be sure to look for the following: qualifications, experienced in the transaction you envision (short sale, foreclosure, etc…), great referrals and testimonials, is a problem solver, and appeals to your personality style (you could potentially be spending a lot of time with your realtor, so you want to make sure it’s a good fit).
5. Solve the problem of how much you want to offer- This can be tricky, but there are some ways to determine the price of your offer. Your Evanston Real Estate agent can provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) which shows what other homes in Evanston are selling for. You can also determine the price by the sellers’ motivation to sell as well as the current market factors- which happen to be in the buyers’ favor right now!
6. Know the home you’re buying- You may have nightmares of coming home to a recent home purchase only to find it falling apart. Ways to avoid this are to thoroughly go over the disclosures which are required to list out issues or recent repairs within the home, get a home inspection, have contingencies in place when making your offer, maintain a home warranty policy that will cover many major malfunctions for a service call fee.
7. Know when to remove contingencies or waive objections- Removing contingencies or waiving objections usually puts thousands of dollars on the line, so it’s not a step to be taken lightly. Plus, by removing contingencies or waiving your objections, you are essentially telling the seller that you plan to close the deal — something you just shouldn’t do unless and until you are satisfied with the following items: title, disclosures and inspections, condition issues, appraisal and underwriting. Your Evanston Real Estate agent can help you determine if and when you need to take this step.
As you can see, these tips involve some action on your part, but if your main objective is to find a trusted Evanston Real Estate agent first; they can help guide you through the rest of the home buying process with ease. Having a basis of where the market is and what you’re looking for is still important, but your real estate agents years of experience in the market will give you that smooth and efficient experience you seek.
Feel free to let us know if you have any questions or are ready to begin searching for your new home in Evanston! We would be happy to talk with you about your real estate needs, your budget and the various options you have. As The Thomas Team, our goal is to make the process as easy and stress free as possible and we would love to help you throughout each step of buying your Evanston home.
We look forward to hearing from you!
The Thomas Team
@ Properties
@ Properties
Chicago's #1 Real Estate Brokerage
Thanks for sharing those tips. Empower our-self with information to make smart decisions and become a successful, sustainable homeowner. By doing this, our home buying process will be more rewarding.
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