Buying A Home in Central Ohio

We understand that the purchase of your home could possibly be the largest single investment that you will make!  We also know, from our combined 30+ years of experience, that this period is full of emotions - Excitement, Stress, and Overwhelming all at once!  Our clients can trust that our priority is to provide the level of service that makes them feel comfortable and confident in referring their friends and family!

Before you begin looking for a home, ask yourself a few questions:
 - Where do you want to live? Specific Neighborhoods or School Districts?
 - What style of house do you want or NEED?  How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you want?
 - Do you entertain often? Is a home suitable for entertaining something you’re looking for?
 - Do you want a yard, pool, outbuilding or gated community?
 - Have you determined your price range?

Searching for your dream home can be a time-consuming experience.  Working with our professional team will make the process much more efficent!

Tips for Home Buyers

Whether this is your first home or your fifth, use the guide below for helpful tips, and learn how to avoid common mistakes when buying your home in Central Ohio.

Create a list of Needs and Wants:

Writing a list of what you WANT and what you NEED in your next home is an essentional step in the process of finding a place that suites your preferences and lifestyle.  This forces tou to think about your priorities and define the features in your next home that are NON-negotiable.  Not every home will have every item on your list of wants, but a clear list of priorities will save time in your home search.  Consider some of these questions:
 - Location:  School; Neighborhood; Proximity to Work or Interests
 - Size:  Bed & Bath Count; Kitchen Size; Garage; Lower Level
 - Amenities:  Yard; Fence; Pool; Outbuilding; Community Amenities
 - Expected Time in the Home:  Room to Grow; Neighborhood Growth

Determine Your Method of Purchase:

Both financing your home, and paying cash have their own set of benefits, and the decision largely depends on your financial situation, goals, and preferences.

A Cash purchase allows you to:
 - Avoid paying interest
 - Simplify and potentially speed-up the purchase process
 - Increase negotiation power with sellers that are looking for a cash offer
 - Have peace of mind in owning your home outright
A Financed Purchase allows you to:
 - Preserve your cash flow
 - Leverage your money by controlling your asset with a smaller initial investment
 - Receive a tax deduction through your mortgage interest
 - Strengthen your credit through on-time payments

Get Pre-Approved:

If you have determined that financing will be your means of pruchasing, you'll want to speak with a lender or mortgage broker to determine your purchasing power.  This is an important step to be completed on the front end for many reasons:

1.  Many sellers in the market may require a pre-approval before touring, as it helps to ensure that they are allowing qualified and serious buyers into their home.
2.  Avoid the disappointment of falling in love with a home you view, only to find out that you are unable to qualify for the financing.

Choose a Real Estate Processional to Represent YOU!

Let's chat about the representation that you deserve when buying your home.  Our team will meet with you for a FREE buyer consultation!

*Did you know that if you call the agent on the sign. in the yard - they already have a signed contract to represent the SELLER's best interest?
*Did you know that as a buyer, you do not pay the commissions to your agent?
*When you choose and commit to a Realtor to represent YOU:
      - You have an advocate from day 1 focused on your needs and best interests
      - You have a partner that understands your needs and works to find the best home for you

Searching and Touring Homes

You have already taken the first step by registering with us at TheOhioHomeStore.Com to search for your next home.  Make sure you are favoriting properties and notifying us of homes that you would like to view in person.  Here are some helpful tips to ensure that you maximize your time and energy when touring homes.

*Stay Focused on your wants, needs and priorities.  It's very easy to walk into a home and instantly let your heart take over with the ambiance, the smealls and visual aesthetics.  Just be sure that you do not let your emotions trump your priorities.
*Be prepared to change your plans.  If the location that you are looking in sells within 3 days on average, be prepared to tour wuickly if the listing checks all of your boxes.  Additionally, you will want to ensure that all decision makers in your home-buying process are avilable to tour...you may not have enough time to get them back into the home before another buyer makes an offer.

Making An Offer

Before the offer to purchase is created, it is very important that you have been at least pre-qualified or better yet pre-approved by a lender.  It shows the seller that you are financially able to purchase the home. After you have found the right home, it is time to prepare the offer.

When you have found the home that is right for you, and you’re ready to make an offer, you should consult with your Realtor to establish the strongest offer to put forth within your buying parameters.  With your pre-approval in hand, you and your Realtor are able to leverage your buying power, your cash on hand, and your contract terms to write the offer.  While contracts  and contract language vary from state to state and locale to locale your Realtor should prepare you ahead of time with a sample contract and discuss potential terms such as Purchase Price, Financing, Inspections, Remedy Period, Home warranty, Earnest Money, Closing Date vs Possession Date and Offer Duration – just to name a few.

Additionally, you may want to discuss alternative contract language that could come up – GAP Coverage, Waiver of Remedy, and Additional Conditions applicable to the specific property you have decide upon.

What are Closing Costs?

You've found your dream home, the seller has accepted your offer, your loan has been approved and you're eager to move into your new home. But before you get the key, there's one more step--the closing.

Also called the settlement, the closing is the process of passing ownership of property from seller to buyer. And it can be bewildering. As a buyer, you will sign what seems like endless piles of documents and may need to present a wire for the down payment and various closing costs. It's the fees associated with the closing that many times remains a mystery to many buyers who may simply hand over thousands of dollars without really knowing what they are paying for.

As a responsible buyer, you should be familiar with these costs that are both mortgage-related and government imposed. Although many of the fees may vary by locality, here are some common fees:

• Appraisal Fee: This fee pays for the appraisal of the property. You may already have paid this fee at the beginning of your loan application process.
• Credit Report Fee: This fee covers the cost of the credit report requested by the lender. This too may already have been paid when you applied for your loan.
• Loan Origination Fee: This fee covers the lender's loan-processing costs. The fee is typically one percent of the total mortgage.
• Loan Discount: You will pay this one-time charge if you have chosen to pay points to lower your interest rate. Each point you purchase equals one percent of the total loan.
• Title Insurance Fees: These fees generally include costs for the title search, title examination, title insurance, document preparation and other miscellaneous title fees.  NOTE:  In the Columbus area, the title insurance is paid by the seller – which is the largest of the title fees.
• PMI Premium: If you buy a home with a low down payment, a lender usually requires that you pay a fee for mortgage insurance. This fee protects the lender against loss due to foreclosure. Once a new owner has 20 percent equity in their home, however, he or she can normally apply to eliminate this insurance.
• Prepaid Interest Fee: This fee covers the interest payment from the date you purchases the home to the date of your first mortgage payment. Generally, if you buy a home early in the month, the prepaid interest fee will be substantially higher than if you buy it towards the end of the month.
• Escrow Accounts: A mortgage lender will usually start an account that holds funds for future annual property taxes and home insurance.
• Recording Fees and transfer taxes: This expense is charged by most states for recording the purchase documents and transferring ownership of the property.

While all of these fees may appear overwhelming - this is the reason why you so dilignetly selected the best Realtor and Lender that you could find!  Together - your form a team that will ensure you are educated.  You should NEVER be caught off guard by a fee at the closing table!

From your first search to closing and beyond - We've Got You Covered!  You can trust that our team of professionals will ensure the smoothest process...Let's get started!