Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.
Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.
Notice I said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.
Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.
Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.
My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service possible, meticulously designed to help you navigate the process of buying your dream home. I am dedicated to understanding your unique needs and preferences, ensuring that every step of the journey is tailored to achieve your ultimate home-buying aspirations.
This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.
Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. I will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.
In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. I can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.
Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.
Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.
No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.
After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams.
Megan was fantastic to work with through the entire home buying process. She was quick to understand what our family wanted and maximized our time with only showing us houses she knew we would be interested in. She was very pat...
Megan is a top Hinsdale and Western Suburb agent and we can now see why. She excelled at what any seller wants - she sold our home much faster and for a higher offer than we expected! And that too in a buyer’s market. She is ex...
Moving from out of state and totally unfamiliar with Hinsdale, Megan had the perfect combination of local knowledge and real estate experience which resulted in us purchasing a well-suited house in a perfect location for our fa...
I am a realtor myself and so I have some insight on this very difficult profession. Megan could not have been more Professional and Successful for us. Everything from pricing (always difficult) to staging to handling the Open H...
Megan was wonderful to work with, and I'll recommend her to anyone! There is so much an individual can access on their own online, but Megan brought her knowledge and understanding of the broader market to really help me find t...
Megan McCleary is the best! She sold our house in less than a week and had multiple offers. Megan made the whole process of selling easy and flawless. We enjoyed working with her and loved how professional and responsive she wa...
Megan is a phenomenal real estate agent. She is patient, very organized, communicative, quick to respond to my relentless questions, a great negotiator and extremely knowledgeable about the area. She also has a good eye and see...
Megan was a spectacular agent. What I appreciated the most was her patience; she never rushed us into a decision, was willing to show us as many homes as we needed to see and was determined to make sure that we found the perfec...
I wholeheartedly recommend Megan and the McCleary Group. Megan assisted us with the sale of our Hinsdale home and was a consummate and trusted professional throughout the process. I interviewed a number of well known agents bef...
Megan McCleary is an amazing realtor and we have worked with her on two separate home purchases and sales. Megan is patient and knows the Hinsdale and surrounding market extremely well. She and her husband Tom have raised their...
I highly recommend Megan. She helped us purchase and sell our homes. She is completely professional, has a strong understanding of the market and worked hard to sell our home. She expertly guided us through the process of getti...
We had a wonderful experience working with Megan McCleary to find our forever home. Her local knowledge and network proved to be critical in identifying properties that were coming on the market. What I loved most about Megan w...
Megan is an exceptional real estate agent in Hinsdale. Her in-depth knowledge of the local market is impressive and proved invaluable during our home search. She listened attentively to our needs and consistently exceeded our e...
Megan excels in all aspects of selling a home. Very trustworthy, professional and always available. She managed the process extremely well. We sold our home over the first weekend with multiple bids. I highly recommend Megan fo...
McCleary Group, a Chicago area real estate team, provides premiere real estate services, whether you're buying, selling, or building a home. This top team is led by seasoned real estate agent Megan McCleary.
