Congratulations on deciding to purchase your first home in Austin and your largest investment. Home ownership provides a sense of community, tax incentives, and stability. It is a big responsibility, but it can pay off in the long run.
Where Do I Begin?
We strongly believe that the first place to start is with a Realtor who can guide you through the process. However, we will tell you that you need to start with a loan officer or lender, and we would be happy to help you find a trustworthy professional. It’s important to start with a lender in order to determine your budget for the home and to determine the costs associated with buying a home. Some costs to consider are lender fees, inspection fees, and moving costs. You will need a pre-approval letter from a lender in order to make an offer on a home. Since this can take a couple of days to a week, get this piece of paper now.
Once you have your budget, you will want to determine what is important to you. For example, if you like outdoor sports, you may want to live close to Lake Travis or maybe close to Lady Bird Lake. If you have young children, schools may be important to you. Is downtown Austin condo living the place for you, or would you rather have a yard for your dog? At this time, you should also come up with a timeframe. When does your lease end?
Now you are ready to start looking at homes in your price range and in the area that you prefer. Let’s hop in the car and take a home tour!
When you find that special home, we will submit a written offer based on what we agree the home is worth. We will look at homes that have sold in the area (comps) and how long the home has been on the market. After negotiations with the seller, we are officially ‘under contract.’ You will deposit earnest money and option money and then begin inspections.
After inspections are done, and you decide that you would like to move forward with the home, you just have to make sure that all of your lender paperwork is finished and submitted. The lender will take over until closing at which point you sign your life away. You are officially a Home Owner!
Clearly, there are more details to discuss than this. Call us at 512-699-0786 to start the conversation.
