The 9 Steps of Buying a Home in the Knoxville Area

Purchasing a home intimidates a lot of people. However, with a bit of planning ahead of time, it isn't very complicated. So you'll understand exactly what to expect, we like to furnish our buyers with a road map of the entire deal. Here are our nine steps to buying a home.

Step 1 - Get Ready to Buy a Home

There are a lot of things you'll want to do before you start looking for a home. It's likely that you'll want to make an outline of features you want to have, get a plan of what neighborhoods you'd like to live in, and begin planning around your budget. A good rule to adhere to is that your mortgage payment should be less than or close to 1/3 of your monthly income.

Step 2 - Contact a Real Estate Agent

That's where we come in. We'll set up a time to meet so we can talk about why you want to buy a home and get an idea of your future plans. We'll discuss everything from neighborhoods, school districts in the Lenoir City area, the mortgage and housing industries, to any other economic factors that might affect your purchase today or in the future.

We'll also help you facilitate the loan process. There are some very good mortgage professionals in surrounding County's, and we work with a lot of them, so you can rest assured that you're in great hands. They'll help you choose which kind of loan is best for you, as well as help you get qualified.

Step 3 - Start House Hunting

After we meet, we'll begin finding available houses on the market that are great for you. We'll preview most of the homes and throw out the duds, and then we'll book appointments to view the houses when it's most convenient for you. When we tour homes, we'll show you the good features and bad ones. we'll even ask you what things you like and dislike. It's pretty common for buyers to update their wish list as we tour homes and some things become far more necessary than others. If that's the case, we'll go back through the listings again and narrow it down to the home you've been dreaming about.

Step 4 - Know the Housing Market

Our knowledge of the housing market in Loudon County, Knox County, Blount County and Monroe County is a crucial asset in your house search. We're conscious of all the school districts and neighborhoods, and we'll will alert you to some areas are "hot" and require immediate action and the ones that are "cool" and allow for more examination.

When we view houses, we'll be sure to tell you if the list price has room for bargaining or if we believe the house is "priced to sell." When working with an agent, be mindful and make sure you ask a lot of questions.

Step 5 - Find Your Dream Home

We're confident we'll find the home of your dreams in the Loudon County an surrounding area, and when that happens, we'll meticulously develop your purchase offer. The offer will be tailored with your needs in mind. Whenever necessary, We never forget to make contracts contingent upon items like obtaining financing and the results of the home inspection. When we send in your purchase offer, you'll likely want to submit "earnest money." This is a cash deposit given to a seller to secure the offer to purchase the property and is usually put towards the closing costs. If your offer is accepted by the seller, we should close on the property about 30 to 60 days after. This allows sufficient time for your mortgage financing.

Step 6 - Negotiate the Deal

Most contracts aren't closed on the initial offer - it's widely common to receive a counter offer. Don't let it alarm you. We'll figure out whether or not to accept the counter offer, submit our own counter offer, or decline the seller's offer and move on.

How aggressively we negotiate the contract depends on the state of the market. In addition, we'll work within your financing constraints. And at the end of the day, we'll compose a deal that's best for you.

Step 7 - Obtain Financing

After the contract is finished, you'll begin working with your lender to close the loan. It shouldn't be a long process at all if you've been pre-qualified, but you need to keep in close contact with your lender. And we'll deal with all the property information your lender needs to close the loan.

Step 8 - Close the Deal

You'll get a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) detailing closing costs from your mortgage lender within three days of accepting your application. The estimate rests on the loan amount. RESPA requirements dictate that it has to contain all closing costs and fall within a close range of accuracy, and we'll analyze the estimate and let you know if it all looks okay.

Then it's time to close on your house. This will likely take place at a title company or escrow office and will most likely be a smooth and stress-free event.

Step 9 - Move In

Success! Now you can move into your new house. Enjoy it. Gain an advantage when negotiating purchasing a new home in the Knoxville area with a Smoky Mountain Realty real estate agent in your corner!

Call Us: (865) 986-4646