The Home Buying Process

Before starting your search for larger nesting place in the Tulsa area, there are important factors to consider. First come your needs -- those essentials your home must include.  Next come your wants -- those extra features you'd like to have or are lacking in your present home. Here are some examples:

There’s nothing more frustrating than to start looking at potential nests only to learn that you have been looking in the wrong price range. So as soon as you have a solid number for the potential profit from the sale of your current home, get together with your lender. You will apply for the mortgage and the lender will issue a pre-approval letter. That indicates to a home seller that your offer is serious and worthy of consideration. What's more, knowing the dollar amount you are qualified for assures that you are looking a properties at correct price point.

In selling and buying at the same time, you are trying to orchestrate a complex series of events with lots of birds singing different tunes. Place your trust in Accent Realtors. Every day, we help families like yours sell their smaller roosts and move up to bigger nests throughout Tulsa. Nobody knows the market better to help you select a new nest and make a winning offer…and guide you every step of the way without a ruffled feather.

There are neighborhoods in and around Tulsa that offer you and your family the lifestyle you are seeking. With great schools and plenty of community amenities, all within minutes of your workplace. Just click here to explore neighborhoods and start narrowing your search!

Once you have found THE home, it takes a lot more than picking a price to put together a winning offer. Certainly, the price is central to the offer, but there are other considerations that you must address that will affect whether or not the deal is a winner for you overall.  To set your offer price, you have to start with comparable sales. These are recent sales of similar properties to establish a price range. You want to compare prices of homes that are similar in square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garage space, lot size, age and type of construction. Then, you factor in the condition of the home, extras or additions that are unique to the property, and current market conditions.  The offer is much more complicated than simply coming up with a price and saying, "This is what I'll pay." Because of the huge dollar amounts involved, especially in today's litigious society, both you and the seller want to build in protections and contingencies to protect your investment and limit your risk.Your offer will include not only the price you are willing to pay, but other details of the purchase as well. This includes how you intend to finance the home, your down payment, who pays what closing costs, what inspections are performed, timetables, whether personal property is included in the purchase, terms of cancellation, inclusion of a home warranty, which professional services will be used, when you take physical possession of the property, and how to settle disputes should they occur.

As stipulated in a standard Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors Contract of Sale, you are entitled to have a variety of inspections, investigations and reviews performed pertaining to the structure including fixtures equipment and systems, environmental risks, insurability, flood and water runoff and other factors detailed in the contract. These inspections and reviews must take place within 10 days of the contract signing unless stipulated otherwise. Termite inspection is another required investigation. If any issues are uncovered during the investigations, they are typically taken care of before closing.

Title insurance is a requirement to protect you and the Lender and insure that there are no outstanding liens or judgments against the property. The title search should reveal any such outstanding legal actions that could prevent clear transfer at Closing. The title company will also work with Accent Realtors to clear all the necessary hurdles prior to closing. The title company will escrow all down payments and deposits for distribution at closing. The Lender will receive a Title Insurance Policy guaranteeing against any such claims against the property.  It is also recommended that you purchase an Owners Policy to insure that you have clear title to the property at the time of transfer. If there are any problems later, you can always go back to the Title Insurance Company and have them clear it up at their expense.

Before final lending approval, an underwriter will review your loan package to make sure it conforms to all the guidelines required for that loan product. As part of due diligence, they review the appraisal and title report and may do additional validation of employment, mortgage payments, and credit. The ultimate power and decision authority over the approval of your loan lies in the underwriter’s hands.

Plan to inspect the property the same day as closing, or the previous afternoon if an early morning closing is scheduled. This walk-through should ensure that the property is in the condition you specified in the contract, and to inspect that any required repairs have been performed. If you are purchasing new construction, the builder may require an inspection five days before closing in order to provide sufficient time to address any necessary issues.

Closing takes place at the title company offices. Your purchase is only considered closed when all papers have been signed, the deed has been recorded and all funds have been disbursed.