The Internet is a great place to find out how to buy a home in the convenience and privacy of your own living room. Some of the services are free and others will require a nominal fee. If you are serious about buying a home and want to do everything possible to make it a successful venture, the following suggestions are worth the time and effort.
Check your credit
There are three major credit-reporting agencies and you are now entitled to one free credit check a year. Go to
AnnualCreditReport.com.
Research Neighborhoods
Community profiles can provide valuable information necessary to decide on potential neighborhoods. Sources for demographic, economic, and school information can be found at
Long & Foster's Relocation site. A crime statistics tutorial can be found at
www.crime.org and is designed to allow you to easily locate and assess the accuracy of crime statistics.
Get Pre-approved
Online mortgage brokers like
E-Loan provide customers a wide variety of lenders and loan programs to give buyers an idea of what they qualify for and what is available. However, your agent can also recommend local lenders who may be able to give more personalized service just as promptly and with more reliable results to prevent last minute surprises just prior to closing. Many, like
Prosperity Mortgage and
First Savings Mortgagecan take online applications. The loan commitment, usually available in 24 hours, can help you negotiate a better price for the home because the seller will feel more secure about the sale actually closing. Answers to your questions about mortgages from a Wharton professor and nationally syndicated columnist and recognized expert on mortgages can be found at
www.mtgprofessor.com.
Search for a Home
REALTOR.com,
Long and Foster,
Homes.com,
Harmon Homes,
Homeseekers and
Yahoo all have search tools to look for homes for sale. These resources are a great place to start your home search to get an idea of the type of homes available in a certain area or price range. However, by the time some of these listings hit the internet they may already be sold. Your Realtor can provide you with up to date information and let you know about new listings as soon as they come on the market.
Making an Offer
Your experienced agent can supply you with comparable sales that will help you determine what kind of bid to make for the home. There are online services, such as
www.inpho.com and
Zillow for a small fee that also provide sales information.
Inspect the Property
An objective, unbiased report on the condition of the structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems will help you avoid unnecessary surprises.
The American Society of Home Inspectors can provide you a list of local inspectors.
Print a home inspection guide from
Freddie Mac.
Settlement
Once your agent has negotiated a successful contract, you will need to complete the loan process by having the appraisal on the property made. Prior to the closing, you will need to provide property insurance. If you don't have an insurance agent, go to
Yahoo Classifieds.
Moving
Planning the actual moving requires time to arrange for a mover, sorting what is going to the new home and what is going to be sold, discarded, or donated. Proper packing is important to prevent damage to your valuables. For suggestions and a moving estimate, go to
or
www.moving.com.
Home Improvements
ImproveNet matches consumers with local contractors and designers through a national database of over 630,000 contractors. The retailer Home Depot is a great source for home improvement advice and ideas. To get started, choose from hundreds of great
How-to projects.
Change of Address
Go to
the United States Postal Service.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE WITH ANY OF YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT ELIZABETH.BOUCHARD@LONGANDFOSTER.COM.
