Quick Overview
If you have already decided to buy a home in the Atlanta area, you couldn't have made a better or more important decision. So you can move through the steps from decision to ownership with pleasure, not apprehension, we offer these tips on real estate practices in the Atlanta area.
Your first task will be to select a real estate salesperson with whom you feel comfortable and in whom you have confidence. Troy Stowe understands that buying a home is an event of profound emotional and financial significance, and you can be assured of receiving the level of care and professionalism that has been the hallmark of our company for over years. Multiple listing services and cooperative arrangements between brokers make it possible for one person to show you virtually every home listed for sale. This will save you time and energy and eliminate appointments made at homes already inspected. Rather than visit another agent's "Open House" or call on an ad, request that the salesperson you have selected make arrangements for you to see those properties.
After looking at various properties and you have located your dream home, The next step is to have the salesperson prepare a written purchase and sale agreement containing the terms of your proposed purchase, which will be presented to the seller.
Usually there will be some negotiating of terms before final acceptance by both purchaser and seller. This is done by "counter offers". Be aware that during the negotiating period the seller must be shown all other offers to purchase which are submitted to the listing agent or broker and can accept any such offer by withdrawing outstanding counter offers made to you, if any. It is to your advantage to make decisions promptly and to be available during the negotiating period.
Should one or more other offers come in before yours has been submitted to the seller, they will all be presented to the seller with the order in which they were received given no special consideration. If the seller decides to accept one of the others, you may not have an opportunity to improve the terms of your contract, so make your original offer to purchase a reasonable one.
As soon as your offer has been accepted, you should move to satisfy the contingencies in the contract, such as the inspection and financing clause(s). The contingency requiring the most time to satisfy is the one pertaining to financing. During your home search, discuss your financial needs with the agent. Read the checklist pertaining to making a loan application to get an idea of the information required by lenders so that your first loan application will be a complete one, thus avoiding unnecessary delay.
When your loan has been approved, a closing will be set and generally held in the office of the attorney who represents the loan company. In this area, closing attorneys usually wait until just prior to closing to prepare the closing statement. This makes it difficult for the real estate agent to provide you with an exact figure of the funds you will need at closing. However, your mortgage company will have given you a "good faith estimate" of costs at time of application, and attorneys will generally accept personal checks on local banks for small amounts of closing costs not covered by certified funds.
At the closing you will sign all necessary loan documents (many), and pay the balance of your down payment with certified funds. The seller, having paid off any liens not assumed by you, will sign a deed transferring his ownership to you, give you the keys, and - Congratulations! - you are the proud owner of your dream home.