The Buyer Experience
See our 8 step process for buyers.
Our 8 Step Buying Process:
Beginning your home search can be an overwhelming and daunting task.
Because of that, our team makes sure that you, and all other potential buyers, understand each of the 8 steps that we take to make the process as easy and painless as possible. By the end of your search, with our support and guidance, you will live happily ever after in your new, dream home.
Sold KC has tried and true methods to make the process as easy and painless as possible, and we'll even have a little fun! By the end of this journey, with our support and guidance, you will have found your dream home. Here is our successful plan broken down into 8 simple steps for you:
Let's Meet In Person & Discuss What Your New Home Looks Like!
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The best way to start is with a conversation! We’ll sit down, talk through the process of buying a home with Sold KC, and get specific about what your needs and wants are for your new home. No home is "perfect" and every buyer seems to make a compromise on something but together we can review what is important to you and formulate a plan to find the home best-suited to meet your needs.
Pre-Qualification
This is a vital step in the home buying process. Sellers expect to see that you are pre-qualified before they will even consider your offer, especially in a bidding war! We will recommend some excellent, local lenders who will give you a competitive edge over other buyers. Your lender will do a full review, discuss different financing options, and provide you with an estimate of costs to purchase your new home. You will need to provide paperwork such as 2 recent pay stubs, W-2’s, 2 months of bank statements, and tax returns from the last 2 years. Your lender will provide us with a Pre-Approval Letter & a Closing Estimate which includes a breakdown of your down payment, monthly payment, and all of the closing costs.
Now you're ready to begin your search for a new home!
Alerts For Properties That Match
Your Search Criteria
This is where the hunt for your home begins!! We will set you up to receive email and text notifications about the listings that meet your needs. Hopefully you'll be really excited about the new properties that come on the market! We also use a product that gets you the fastest notification possible. In this market, the early bird catches the worm, so definitely let us know when something grabs your attention so we can schedule a viewing as soon as possible!
Viewing Properties
We will schedule private showings of the homes that you're interested in from our New Listing alerts. We’ll discuss the features & benefits of each house then compare it to the other options you may be interested in. You can't wait until the weekend for Open Houses to try and find your home! Open houses are hosted by the agents representing the seller and the best properties will likely sell before the open house. One of the biggest benefits of our buyer services is to be with you for private showings. Together we can discuss the details of each property and understand what you like or don't like. We will also communicate directly with the seller's agent, making sure you are properly represented.
Selecting The Right Home & Making An Offer
This is the exciting part!
Three things can happen when submitting an offer on a house:
1. The offer is accepted
2. The offer is rejected
3. You get a counter offer
We’ll talk you through each of these scenarios and recommend offer strategies to make sure your offer is competitive and maximizes your chances of being selected! Once your offer is accepted, we will quickly move onto the next steps....which gets you that much closer to your dream home!
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Inspections & Appraisal
After a seller has accepted your offer, we will begin the inspection and appraisal processes. We can recommend several professional, reliable, and competitively priced inspection companies that will inspect the home for a variety of potential issues or problems. Inspections usually happen within 10 days of your offer being accepted and the costs are paid by the buyer. Having a home inspected helps ensure that there are no major safety issues or surprises after closing! Most home-buyers choose to do a Whole House inspection which ranges from $350-500 depending on the size of the property. It is a comprehensive Mechanical & Structural inspection of the property which should identify major issues & most minor defects including deferred maintenance items. Oftentimes an inspector may also recommend improvements that you might consider for the property. Most sellers aren't going to fix every little thing on the list but we will go through the inspection report with you and help prioritize what issues are important, costly, or hazardous and which items can wait until later.
A Structural Engineer can be helpful on properties that show signs of significant foundation movement. They can identify the causes of settlement and will make recommendations and suggest repairs to stabilize the property. Their inspections range between $200-300.
A termite inspection costs between $50-75 and is usually required on FHA, VA, & other government-backed mortgages. Every house is likely to either already have had some termite activity or get it someday, but a periodic inspection helps prevent the damage from getting to the point of being unmanageable. Other common inspections can include Radon, Chimney, Sewer, and/or Mold inspections.
It is important to remember that you are not hiring someone to do a "code" inspection and the seller is not "required" to fix anything. Code inspections are used by a city when a new home is built or a permit is required for a renovation. The codes change over time but older homes are generally considered "grandfathered" for older standards and upgrades are not required until a major renovation is performed.
The appraisal is ordered by your lender to validate the price you are paying for the property is in line with the current market value. The appraiser may note some major or obvious defects that affect the value but they are not there to conduct a home inspection on your behalf.
Closing Details!!!!
As your closing date approaches, we will help you prepare for this final step by assisting you with several things - transferring the utilities in your name, securing homeowner's insurance, collecting any repair receipts, as well as scheduling a final walk through of the property with you. At the closing table, we will be by your side to make sure your figures are all accurate and that everything goes smoothly. A closer from the title company or lender's office will go through all of the final paperwork and you'll sign your name...a lot! Don't forget to bring a valid picture ID & certified funds for the balance needed to close. The closing process usually takes between 45-60 minutes depending on how fast you can sign your name & how many questions you might have.
Congratulations! You're Now A Homeowner & Get The Keys To Your New Home!!
Now you own your dream home! It's time to pop the champagne and celebrate...Congratulations, We did it!!!
Ready to find your dream home?
Let us help you make that happen!