Home Buying Process
Speak with a mortgage broker.
It’s always a good idea to discuss your financial situation with a mortgage broker before you begin looking for homes – that way you’ll know exactly how much home you can afford (and avoid falling in love with a home outside of your price range). If you’d like, we’d be happy to provide you with contact information of several mortgage brokers we’ve worked with personally.Check out available properties online.
Put simply, our MLS search feature is the best there is. Try out our user-friendly search feature to quickly and easily search every residential MLS listing in the state of Florida, including bank-owned properties and short-sale opportunities.Schedule an appointment with us to view properties in person.
Now that you have an idea of what you’re looking for in a home, it’s time to contact Franklin Realty Consultants to start checking out the homes on your list in person. You can contact us at any time to schedule an appointment.Decide which home fits you best.
Once you have scoped out homes that looked like they might be a fit, our agents will provide you with all the information you need to narrow down the list and pick the home that best fits your needs.Make an offer on a home.
When two parties are negotiating over the price of a home, it helps to have a Realtor on your side that can represent your interests to the fullest. That’s why it’s great that the agents at Franklin Realty Consultants have legal backgrounds and extensive experience in negotiation – our clients have a great advantage from the time an offer is made until closing.Sign the contract and make a deal.
After all the terms have been agreed upon, from the price of the property to the closing date, you are officially “under contract” to purchase the property. However, the steps discussed below must still be taken before you officially own your new home.Have the property inspected.
In nearly all residential transactions, you’ll pay a small sum (typically around $100) to have the right to cancel the contract for any reason over a short period of time. During this “option period,” you will have the property inspected by a licensed inspector and negotiate with the seller regarding any issues with the property that may be revealed during the inspection.Negotiate for repairs to the property.
If necessary, during the option period. It is not unusual for an inspection to reveal problems with the property that were not disclosed (or known) before you offered to purchase the home. These issues can range from simple cosmetic preferences to serious structural defects. Typically, such problems are unknown to the seller and may only be found during an inspection. In the event that issues with the home become obvious or are suspected during the inspection, you have the right to ask the seller to either make the necessary repairs before closing or provide you with a monetary credit at closing so that you can have the repairs made. If the problems with the home are so extensive that you no longer want to purchase the home, you may choose to forfeit the small option fee and walk away from the contract.
