Help for You When You Are Buying a Home in Harrisonburg Virginia

August 26, 2009 on 4:15 pm | In Real Estate Advice From a Pro | No Comments

  

Buying a home is more than finding a house

After you have decided to look for a first home or a replacement home it is important to put a game plan in place.  From the Realtor you choose, to the person who will do a home inspection, to the person who will find you a suitable mortgage, there are many ancillary people and services you will need.  You want to make sure that this most important purchase is indeed a sound one.

Significant People and Services That Can Help

·         Realtor

·         Mortgage

·         CPA or financial advisor – optional

·         Surveyor

·         Title Company or attorney

·         Pest Inspector

·         Structural Engineer

·         Others  when needed

Realtor

When choosing a Realtor, it is important to know what you want.  Is it important to you that you get someone knowledgeable who knows the market and has experience?  If you answered yes, then you want a fulltime real estate agent who doesn’t just “dabble” in real estate or as a sideline to another career.  You should interview Realtors like you were interviewing prospective employees for a job.  Imagine you were hiring a person to look after several hundred thousand dollars of your money… you are. 

Mortgage

Stay away from the mortgage broker, mortgage brokers, work as middlemen with banks/lenders and borrowers on the wholesale end to secure financing for you. They usually will cost you more.  I would always choose local banks or large mortgage companies like Wells Fargo.  Still it always pays to shop around.

Surveyor

You’ll need the services of a surveyor if there has not been a recent survey of the property.

Title Company

The title company is another service that you can shop for best price. The Title company will close the deal for you and they vary greatly in pricing. But always remember, you get what you pay for!

Pest Inspection

In Virginia, it is the law that sellers of improved real estate supply the purchaser with a clean bill of health regarding the presence, past or present, of wood damaging insects.  Many do other services like water and septic inspections.

Structural Engineer

You may need this service if there are foundation problems or other structural problems.

Wrap Up

As always, if you utilize the services of a well qualified Realtor, he or she will be able to guide through this maze.

 

Barry Suttles – Realtor

540-246-5666 mobile

Barry@providencevalley.com