How to Buy Your House in Virginia

To have or not to have a Realtor? That is the question.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Are your prepared to go up against a Seller that has a Professional Realtor negotiating terms and conditions on the Seller's behalf?
Are you familiar with the federal, state, city, and township formalities?
Are you familiar with the sales process of buying or selling real estate?

Knowledge is power. Learning more about how to buy and sell real estate will bring you one step closer to be in position of strength when making an offer or accepting one.

To BUY a House in Virginia, follow the Simple Steps Listed Below:

STEP 1: Determine "How much house can I afford?"

Mortgage Lender & Pre-Approval: A mortgage loan officer will be able to determine your purchasing power. Interview multiple loan officers.

Become Empowered: Knowledge is power and your loan officer should be able to evaluate the best loan based on your financial situation.

Pre-Approval Letter: Your pre-approval letter gives you instant credibility in the eyes of a Seller. Your pre-approval letter spells out the type of loan you are approved for. Below are a few loan options you may encounter.

Conventional
Federal Housing Authority (FHA Loan)
Fixed Rate Mortgage
Adjustable Rate Mortgage
Veterans Affairs Loan (VA Loan)
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA Loan)
Rural Housing Service (RHS)
Jumbo Loan
Conforming Loan

STEP 2: Interview and select a Real Estate Agent (Buyer’s Agent)

What to ask in your interview.

Experience:

How long have they been practicing?

Specialty:

Do they specialize as a Buyer’s Agent?

Costs:

What is the cost for their service?
What costs can you anticipate during the buying process

Service:

Explain the scope of their service
What’s expected as the Buyer’s

It is in your best interest to have a professional real estate agent represent you. The advantages are in your favor and the list is lengthy. Below is a list of reasons why to name a few.

Most likely the Seller will commision a real estate agent to market and sell their home. It is common for the Seller to pay for the Buyer Agents commision.
Your Buyer's Agent has a fiduciary duty to carry out the responsibility of the terms and service agreed in the Exclusive Buyer's Agency Contract.
Your Buyer’s Agent will show property based on your criteria and budget.
When placing an offer your Buyers Agent will talk you through the offer process and all the documents involved.
Negotiating your offer will depend on your budget, contingencies and the skill level of your Buyer's Agent.
Once an offer has been accepted your earnest money deposit must be in an escrow account depending on the terms and agreement of the offer contract.
Contingencies offer a way to protect your interest and away to walk out from a deal if the contingencies are not satisfactory. Your agent will be better suited to educate you on contingencies specific to the property you are interested in. Most importantly they will be able to keep you on track to comply to the terms of the agreed offer contract
Below is the list of contingencies to name a few.
- Home inspection can consist the following
  - Foundation
  - Roof
  - Electrical
  - Septic and well
  - Sewer and water
  - Radon gas
  - Chimney
  - Insect infestation
  - Lead based paint
  - Formaldehyde
  - Asbestos
  - Etc.
- Evidence of mortgage application
  - Buyer’s must apply and qualify for and obtaining a mortgage commitment and cause the appraisal to be ordered
- Additional Earnest money deposit
  - Additional EMD can be provided based on specific performance or satisfaction of any contingencies.
- Attorney approval
  - Review all documents pertaining to the sales contract
  - Identify any discrepancies regarding title, liens, assessments, and etc
  - Review homeowners association bylaws and financials
  - Review and approve any and all title documents regarding current ownership
  - Council the Buyer’s involved
- Exclusions
  - Satisfactory of removal of certain items within the house or on the land
- Metered water, sewer, electrical, and gas escrow
  - Buyer and seller agree on a certain amount to be escrowed for any outstanding municipal balances after the closing of the property
- Tax porations
  - Refer to your agent to how the property taxes will be prorated
- Private road
  - Seller to provide documents of who is responsible for taking care of the road/Drive
- Final walk-through
  - Refer to your offer contract regarding buyer's final walk-through of the property prior to closing on the property
- Closing date of the property
  - Buyer and seller agree a certain date, time, and location to finalize the sale of the property

STEP 3: Hunt for your dream home and determine market value

House Hunt and find a Property::
- Your Agent/Broker will setup properties to preview property that fit your criteria and your budget.

Understanding the housing market::

Your Agent should provide a Comparable Market Analysis (CMA) in and around the property(s) of interest. The Comparable Market Analysis may include the following parameters.
- Search for Listings of Sold Properties (Find Sold Property of the past 6 - 3 months) and Current Pendings Sales (Find Current Pending Sale(s)) within a radius of:
  - 1 - 3 miles from the property of interest
- Property Types:
  - Residential
- Property Sub-Types:
  - Single Family, Farm, Condominium, Vacant Land, and etc
- Property Style:
  - If your subject property is a ranch style home the CMA needs to reflect properties that are the same style. Below is a list of common styles to describe a home.
    - 1.5 Story
    - 2 Story
    - 2.5 Story
    - 3 Story
    - Ranch
    - Bi-Level
    - Tri-Level
    - Quad-Level
    - Colonial
    - Contemporary
    - Cape Cod
    - Bungalow
    - Manufactured
    - Log Home
- Bedrooms:
  - The CMA should have the same number of bedrooms as the subject property.
- Bathrooms:
  - The CMA should have the same number of full baths and half baths as the subject property.
- Square Footage
  - The square footage needs to be as close to the square footage of the subject property.
- Basement Type:
  - If the subject property has a full finished basement then the CMA should include properties with a full finished basement. Below are some common terms to describe a basement
    - Full
    - Partial
    - Partially Finished
    - Walkout
    - Daylight
    - Egress
    - Slab
    - Crawl
- Garage count
  - If the subject property has a 2 car garage find comparables with a 2 car garage.
- Acreage
  - The acreage needs to be as close to the acreage of the subject property

STEP 4: Placing an Offer

Offer Strategies: Your agent should be creative enough to come up with multiple strategies based on your budget, needs, wants, contingencies, and your walk away number.

STEP 5: Accepted Offer

Accepted Offer:: Buyer’s & Seller’s have agreed on a sales price, terms, and contingencies.
- Buyer goes through the motions of satisfying the contingencies
  - Inspections
  - Appraisal
  - Lender conditions
  - Attorney’s approval
- Receive “Clear to Close”: The Buyer’s lender will confirm with the Buyer and Agent clear to close.

STEP 6: Close

Close Date:: Go through the closing motions.
- Schedule your final walk through of the property and go with your Realtor
- Confirm the Seller has called for the final water read
- Schedule “Transfer of Service” of all municipalities.
- Review Closing Docs:: Ask any and all questions to the title company and Buyer’s Agent.
- Go to the Closing Table. Closing typically takes place at the title company.