Buyers' Guide For Miami Real estate
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Sophiasells.com offers you a smarter way to buy a home. We offer a complete set of tools, tips, and resources that you can useas you progress throughout your entire process. from dreaming of owning a home to moving into a new home of your own.
Sophiasells.com serves as a personal guide to help you with everything you need along the way!.
We provide you with a login password to our website where you can follow every step of your buying process.
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| Buying Process: |
| 1 Consider purchasing a home |
| 2 Select a real estate agent |
| 3 Determine needs and wants |
| 4 Discuss financial issues |
| 5 View & research target homes |
| 6 Make an offer to buy |
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| 7 Offer Accepted |
| 8 Loan Application |
| 9 Inspections |
| 10 Title Search |
| 11 Appraisal |
| 12 Loan Approval |
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| 13 Closing Papers Signed |
| 14 Documents Recorded |
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| 15 Funds Available To Seller |
| Why Buying a Home is a Good Idea: |
As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about four or five percent a year. Some years will be more, some less. The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and region to region.
At an appreciation rate of 5% annually, a $200,000 home would increase in value $10,000 during the first year. That means you earned $10,000 with an investment of $40,000. Your annual "return on investment" would be a whopping twenty-five percent. |
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| Finding the Right Home: |
Real Estate Agents:
You can sit down with a real estate agent and discuss your needs, type of area, style of home, amenities and everything you really want in your next home. Real estate agents can help you by accessing a Listing Service which covers all properties listed for sale within a specific area. Together, you can select the homes you would like to see, set appointments and preview homes in a short period of time. An agent can guide you through the entire process.
Newspaper Ads/Internet:
Many people go through the real estate classified section or browse the Internet to find a home that appeals to them. However, your real estate agent will have many listings available that may not appear in the newspaper or Internet on a continuous basis. New listings come on the market daily.
Multiple Listing Service:
- Location
- Price
- Photograph
- Utilities
- Amenities
- Annual property tax
- Current financing (when assumable)
- Listing company
Have Fun.
Relax. Finding your new home can be a rewarding experience. Have a good time and enjoy the process.
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| Home Shopping Tips: Check For Properly Working Appliances: |
- Bathroom:
- Sinks
- Showers/tubs
- Toilets
- Vent fan
- Heating fan
- Appliances:
- Dishwasher
- Ice maker
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
- Trash compactor
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- Inside:
- Windows
- Lights
- Ceiling fans
- Heating system
- Hot water system
- Air conditioning system
- Electrical outlets
- Doors
- Fireplace damper
- Kitchen:
- Drawers
- Kitchen cabinet doors
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| Home Inspections: |
Home Buyers:
A critical part of purchasing a home is determining the condition the house is in. Home Inspection is a critical portion before closing escrow. Home Inspectors come to the house and perform several critical inspections to determine the house condition. These trained professionals can quickly determine if a house has foundation problems, structural cracks, mold growth, termites, etc. These problems can potentially be huge, so it is important to know about them prior to purchasing a home. Furthermore, unless you are a trained professional inspector the initial warning signs might go undetected.
Often time the escrow company or real estate agent will select an inspector for you. However, it might be wise to choose you own inspector because of the future consequences it may have. Also, the Real Estate Agent or Escrow Company; undoubtedly will receive certain benefits for referring Home Inspectors. It might be a good idea also to get a second opinion.
Finding a qualified Inspector:
- Referrals from satisfied customers
- Referral from a local real estate agent or mortgage company
- Local consumer affairs office
- Yellow Pages under "Building Inspection Services"
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| How to prepare for closing: |
How do I Prepare for Closing?:
Prior to the actual closing day, there are several things you should do to be certain that your real estate transaction will close on time, and that everything will go smoothly. A day or two before closing, you should review your final closing statement or HUD-1 Statement, whichever is used in your area of the country. You should go over all the calculations and be certain that you are given credit for all your deposits and any other credits due to you from the seller or for other items agreed upon between buyer and seller. Go over all the lender and title and escrow fees, to be sure they are what you had been told and that you agree to them. Check the math calculations on the closing statement.
The closing date is set after your mortgage loan has been approved and you accept the commitment letter. The real estate agent will coordinate this date with you, the seller, your lender, and the closing agent.
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| Frequently asked Questions: |
What is the difference between being prequalified and preapproved for a loan?
If you're prequalified it means that you POTENTIALLY could get a loan for the amount stated to you, assuming that all of the information given was accurate and true.
If you're preapproved, it means that you have undergone the extensive financial background check - which includes looking at your credit history, previous tax returns and verifying your employment - and the lender is willing to give you a loan.You're APPROVED! So, they give you a letter that states such and it is valid for approximately 60 days thereafter.
Notwithstanding the above, you will have an accurate figure which shows the maximum amount that you are approved for. Most sellers prefer buyers that have been preapproved because they know that there will not be any problems with the purchase of their home..
What are closing costs?
When a person or entity purchases real estate, there are many fees or costs involved, aside from the purchase price of the property. These are referred to as closing costs. Closing costs must be paid in advance of "closing" a real estate transaction, and they are generally the responsibility of the buyer. In some cases, the seller will pay a certain amount of the closing costs in order to make the deal more attractive or to make the sale move more quickly.
Closing costs are the products of securing a mortgage, and represent payment for items required by the lender as conditions of the loan. Some of the costs include things like title searches, fees to record a deed, appraisal fees, credit check expenses, homeowner's insurance and mortgage insurance. Other fees are also included, such as a loan application fee.
What is a point?
One point is equal to 1% of the new loan amount. Whenever government regulation, state usury laws and/or competitive practices prohibit the lender from charging a rate of interest that would make the real estate loan competitive with other fields of investments, the lender must seek some method of increasing the yield for the investors. By charging "points", the lender can bring the real estate loan up to those other investments.
Down Payment?
As part of your offer, you will need to disclose the size of your down payment. Once again, this allows the seller to evaluate your likelihood of obtaining a home loan. It is easier to get approved for a mortgage when you make a larger down payment. The underwriting guidelines are less strict.
Interest Rate?
Another reason for including financing information in your offer is to protect yourself. If interest rates suddenly become volatile and rise quickly, as sometimes happens, you may looking at a mortgage payment much higher than you anticipated. By putting a maximum acceptable interest rate in the offer, you are protecting yourself from such an occurrence.
At the same time, the seller will probably want to see that you have some flexibility in the financing terms you are willing to accept. If interest rates are currently at eight percent and you indicate this is the highest rate you will accept, you would be able to cancel the contract without penalty if interest rates rose past that point. The seller would suffer because they have lost valuable marketing time and may have made their own plans based on successfully closing the transaction.
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