How To Buy A Home

A step by step guide to help you better understand the process of buying a home. Whether you are a first time home buyer, purchasing an investment property, or anything in between, you will want to be familiar with the process you are about to embark on.

DOWNLOAD our Book, or request a hard copy, just click here…The Home Buyer's Guide

Research

Before you begin the process of seeing homes, you will want to make sure you know where you want to live. You can begin by searching the community pages on our website to get a better understanding of what each neighborhood provides. Whether you want to live in Grand Rapids or surrounding areas, knowledge is the key to finding the best home and location to fit your needs. In addition to location, put together a list of features that you do and do not want in your home so that you can easily reduce the amount of time spent looking at properties that do not meet your criteria.

Affordability

The most important part of buying a home, is to ensure that you know what you can afford for a monthly payment. Keep in mind, that if you choose to buy a property in an association, you will most likely have the additional cost of monthly association dues. Once you have gotten your monthly finances figured out and determine a range you are comfortable with, you will need to talk with a lender. Our financing page is a great way to understand the options you have when moving forward with your pre-approval process. Pre-approval is the MOST critical step in the home buying process, this important letter is needed to write an offer and close on the home you love. Download our app to find a mortgage calculator, interest rates, and more information about the financial process of purchasing a home.

Realtor

Since you have already decided to work with King Moves GR, you will be well represented and taken care. Our team is knowledgeable, dedicated, and experienced in a wide variety of real estate transactions. People who have previously worked with us, are an excellent reference to how well we communicate and put the needs of our clients first. Wondering what our previous clients have to say, check out some of the testimonials they have left for us.

Showings

Now that all the detailed work is completed, the best part of buying a home is actually getting to see them. Allow us to deal with the stress and you can enjoy the fun of searching for the perfect place to call home. Our home search and open house options are a great way to find properties in your area and view the details of what the home provides. These tools, along with the help of King Moves GR, will guide you in the right direction to find a house to call your forever home.

Offer

You have found the place you want to call home, the next step is to write an offer, moving you one step closer to calling this house your home. To submit the winning offer, there are many items that dictate how strong your offer will need to be in order to be competitive. Luckily, the experience and knowledge of King Moves GR, will give you a competitive edge in writing an offer that the seller(s) will love.

pending

Now that your offer is accepted, this is known as “pending,” which means both the buyer and seller have agreed on terms for purchasing the house. During this stage, there are many different events that take place. The first is to have the property inspected by a professional. Yes, your mothers, uncles, cousin can inspect the house but we recommend that you have it done by a neutral third party. You can use any inspection company but we have recommendation based upon previous experience and quality of the inspection company.

Once you have processed through the inspection period, your lender will order an appraisal to ensure the property is valued at the amount you offered. This process is required (unless purchasing with cash) by your lender to avoid over lending money on a house. Lenders will only provide the amount of money that the house is appraised for, if there is a discrepancy in the amount offered and the value of the property, there are several difference steps that can be taken. Although not common, this is one of the many reasons having representation through the home buying process is essential.

After smooth sailing through the above items, now your file is heading to underwriting to be finalized. This is the last step in the collection of any remaining documents, finalized the purchase of your home, and getting to closing. The underwriting process can take a couple days, during this time you should be preparing to make the big move into your new home.

CLOSING

Things are official getting real as you head to the title company to sign the final paperwork on your NEW HOME! Your lender and title company will provide you with a final number that you have to bring to close in the form of a certified check. A few signatures (maybe more than a few) later and you will be the owner of the home you worked hard to find. Depending on possession of the sale, you may be given the keys at closing or have to wait until the possession time period has expired.