Should I be Pre-approved for a Mortgage?
Lehigh Valley Home Sellers expect that any home buyer interested in seeing their home has already been pre-approved to get a mortgage.
As a potential Lehigh Valley Home Buyer, you want to know your numbers! Can you get a mortgage? What are the payments and taxes? What is your qualifying price range?
Credit score, income versus debt, length of job employment, location of job all play an important role in the process. It is in your best interest to get pre-approved.
In addition, in order to place an offer on a home, you will need a mortgage pre-approval showing you have the ability to get a mortgage.
Should I get my new Lehigh Valley Home Inspected?
Yes!
An offer on a Lehigh Valley Home may contain multiple inspections (property, wood destroying insect - termite, radon, water, sewer, boundaries and zoning, lead paint).
It is in the Home Buyer's best interest to get inspections so they know exactly what they are buying.
When you place an offer on a home, you must select which inspections you are going to get. Your real estate agent should walk you through the part of the agreement of sale to make sure you select the correct "inspections" and get the home fully looked at by a qualified inspector.
Can My Real Estate Agent Show Me Any Home?
Yes!
When an agent works on your behalf (as your Buyer's agent), they can show you any home on the market. It doesn't matter whom has the property listed.
For instance, your Berkshire Hathaway Agent (Joe Finnerty) can show you Weichert, Remax, and Coldwell Banker listings.
No matter what company has the listing, call Joe to see it.
When Can I Move Into My New Home?
Most Lehigh Valley Home Closings (when you actually purchase and take possession) occur 6-7 weeks from when you place the offer on the home.
During the 6-7 week process, the home buyer gets all of the inspections done on the property. In addition, all of the mortgage work is getting done including the appraisal on the property.
At the same time, the title company is doing their job in searching the title on the property to check for any liens or encumbrances, tax or utility liabilities, easements and other issues.
Once all of this is done, the mortgage company issues a "Clear to Close".
Typically, the home buyer can finish the purchase and take possession about 1 week after this is issued.
How Much Money Will I Need?
The money needed to purchase a Lehigh Valley Home includes the deposit, based on the Mortgage type, plus closing costs.
For instance, a conventional loan may require 20% down.
Closing costs are typically 5-6% of the purchase price.
So, for a $200,000 home the home buyer would need about $52,000 dollars to purchase the home (20% plus closing costs).
FHA requires a minimum of 3.5% down. So, for the same $200,000 home $19,000 dollars would be needed to purchase the home (3.5% plus closing costs).
To offset these costs, a home sale may include sellers assist. This is a method of including the 5-6% closing costs into the mortgage and lowering the amount of money needed by a home buyer to purchase the home.
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