Buying for the first time (or not in a long time)

Congratulations, this is an exciting time in your life!

I will first begin by saying that the most important part of buying for the first time is looking at all of the options and possibilities thoroughly, this will most importantly include the financial responsibilities, this is the case even if you are buying cash.  There are many items that you will now have to be responsible for to include property taxes, maintenance, monthly assessments in a condominium, parking in some parts of the city, which you must weigh in to make sure that you are fully ready to do this.

It is important to realize that although you may start working with a lender and a Realtor this does not put you in any compromise to make a purchase; the time has to be right for you, all good professional Realtors will know this and will understand if you need a little more time to prepare; it is a much better route than to push through into a stressful situation.

The first step should be looking into the financing aspects of your purchase if you are not buying cash, your Realtor will have good lender connections that you can feel comfortable exploring all the possibilities, there are many different loan types with correspondingly different down payments and loan terms, you should how each would work in your purchase.

Having a budget ready before seeing the lender is a great idea as you may qualify for a lot more loan than what feels comfortable to you; most loans will be long term commitments so you want to be able to maintain your quality of life and do the things you enjoy doing while you own your first home.

With a dollar figure in mind you can explore different areas or property types for what you are looking for; a Realtor is usually good help here as you can usually see properties online to start narrowing down locations or property types.

Also to consider is plugging in the numbers with other factors such as assessments if a condominium or taxes as they can vary greatly in sometimes similar properties based on location, age of the building, or type of building.

Start looking at properties in person with a Realtor, this process should take as long as you feel comfortable that you have a good grasp of the market and can confidently make a call on value on a property that you like.

Your Realtor will be able to help you once you have identified a potential property by giving you recently sold comparables and assist in determining condition in regards to value and pricing; a Realtor will have access to good inspectors and other professionals along to help you due a proper due diligence and make sure that your potential property is really the one.

Usually it will be 30 to 45 days from the time you find a potential property until you close and are able to get the keys so plan accordingly.

Santiago Valdez|RealtorŪ

RE/MAX Signature North|5135 N. Ravenswood|Chicago, IL 60640
cell 773.858.2410|office 773.290.6134|fax 800.627.0132
email Santiago@Chicago773.com | website www.MainChicago.com

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