4 Critical Steps To Buying A House In Texas
Whether you are a newcomer to the Lone Star State, or you have lived here all your life, we would just like to say welcome to the Texas real estate market! When you begin searching for a home, it can get quite confusing. However, we are here to help guide you with the 4 most important steps to buying a house in Texas in order for you to purchase the home of your dreams.
Review Your Finances
One of the first things you will need to do to ensure you can buy a home is to secure your finances. When an individual or couple plans on purchasing a home, most will end up needing a loan from the bank. But the bank itself will ask for a number of documents and records from you to ensure that you have a steady income, assets, and any other additional security it needs to trust that you will pay the loan back. Some items you will need to organize to successfully get pre-approved for a home loan include:
- Social security card – This information helps the bank identify who you are
- Valid ID – Along with your social, this is just additional information to prove who you are to the bank
- Tax returns – It helps to provide this information as it ensures the bank that you won’t have any outstanding potential issues in the future with the IRS.
- Pay stubs or any other proof of income – This one might seem obvious, but the bank will just want to be sure that you have continual steady cash flow so that you will be able to pay your mortgage loan on time with your interest rate factored in.
- Bank statements – These ensure the bank that you have the funds needed to cover all of the charges that come with buying a house like closing costs and down payment.
- Credit score or credit report – This offers further proof that you are responsible with money, not in an overwhelming amount of credit card debt, and have a history of being dependable.
- Rental history – This information can offer more insight into how you are meeting financial deadlines and treating other real estate property.
- Other assets – These are any other forms of money you have available to act as reassurance that you have enough funds to cover your loan (savings, IRA, 401K, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.)
- Any other loans – There is a possibility you could be unapproved if you have any other previously given loans that outweigh your income and other assets, even if it is not a real estate loan.
Locate a Real Estate Agent
After researching to know what your financial situation is, you will want to go about finding a real estate agent you can trust to help you with your home buying experience. Not only can a real estate agent help narrow down the house you have in mind, but they can also help guide you through the strenuous process of purchasing a home. Beyond money, you will have to deal with other aspects of buying a home, including attending open houses, negotiations, closing costs, and so much more, so it helps to have someone on your side.
Hash Out What You’re Searching For
Sure, it’s fun to walk through amazing homes in the area you’ve always hoped of living in. But the bottom line is if you don’t have a solid idea of what kind of home you want, it may be harder to make a decision when the time comes. You don’t want to make the mistake of missing out on your perfect home because you had uncertainties about what you could or couldn’t live without.
Start by writing down what you know you need in a home and whittle your list down to things you may be able to negotiate on. For example, you might know for a fact that you want four bedrooms and granite countertops, but you are willing to negotiate on things like a formal dining room and wine cellar. This kind of information will not only help yourself, but it will also help your realtor know what they should be looking for when assisting you throughout your exploration phase of the process.
Home Inspection and Escrow
Yes! You’ve found the home you want to live in and you are ready to buy. Everything about it says it’s all you. But here comes a little bit more work before you can move in. You absolutely need to make sure that you have brought in a reputable home inspector to assess and inspect the home. While it might look perfect on the outside, there could be some damage that you are unaware of. It is best to find out now and decide whether you want to negotiate with the property owner or move on to something else.
Once you have come to an agreement with the current owner, your legal advisor (sometimes agent) can help you determine escrow, meaning the legal document will be held with them until all arrangements and conditions can be met by both parties.
Your home is an investment, and for most, it will be one of the biggest investments you will ever make. Contact the Shawn Manderscheid Team today to help guide you through all of the steps to buying a house in Texas. Your success is our success, and we can’t wait to be a part of your home buying process.