This quick overview of the home buying process gives a first time home buyer a birds-eye view of what to expect. Contact Dave Chenette or call 802-264-1991 with any questions or a tour of Chittenden Vermont real estate. You might also be interested in the home inspection process or the closing week punchlist.
Before Making an Offer on VT Real Estate
Before you make any sort of offer you want to find a good real estate agent to work closely with before and during the buying process. Besides finding a good real estate agent, who can save you a lot of time and money, you want to research your financing options and qualifications. A must is to get prequalified for a loan (see “Buyer Financing” page).
Of course there are a lot of homes out there. Before you even start looking you might consider writing down what you want out of a house and what your ideal would be. Although there are some things that can change during the home search, at least you are armed with some rough ideas. Once you have some criteria, search online, view homes, keep looking and keeping notes, until you find your dream home.
Vermont Home Offer Accepted
Once you find a home, make an offer and possibly a counter offer, you eventually get to the point of acceptance and that is when the real work begins. First you need to forward accepted contract to your lender to begin the financing process and order appraisal. At this point in the process an application fee is due. Once this is done you should schedule a home inspection (see Home Inspection Process) and wait for the results. Patience is key at this point since it is not unheard of to have a home inspector come forth with something that needs immediate attention. If you want to do something while you are waiting, you can research and get homeowners insurance quotes. You also need to choose an attorney who will later be delivering the accepted contract. Note that the attorney usually waits until loan approval to begin work other than opening initial file. Besides waiting for the home inspection, you may also be waiting for loan approval which is another reason to be sure to get prequalified for a loan.
Final VT Home Buying Process
Once all of the above is in place, the attorney will begin a title search. This can take up to a week to finalize. The last part is the closing checklist. Be sure to allow for a full day to attend the closing in order to make sure that everything is taken care of and have less stress.