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Questionnaire
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CITY HOMEBUYER LEARNING CENTER |
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MESSAGE FROM BROKER/TOC
A. FIND YOUR LENDER
B. FIND YOUR REALTOR
C. FIND YOUR NEW HOME
D. NEGOTIATE YOUR PURCHASE
CONTRACT
E. GET ORGANIZED FOR YOUR
CLOSING
F. CLOSE YOUR DEAL
FIND YOUR NEW HOME
1. Distinguish
Between Your Needs and Your Wants. The
most important first step in your property search is to narrow your
focus. From the start, you should make two lists:
- Needs List. This
is a list of the characteristics that you must have in your home.
Your list may include:
- Geographic area/neighborhoods (as broad
as acceptable to you)
- Minimum number of bedrooms
- Minimum number of bathrooms
- Acceptable school districts
- Wants List. This
is a separate list of the additional characteristics that you
desire, but can possibly live without. This list could include:
- Specific neighborhood within your general
geographic preference
- Ideal number of bedrooms
- Ideal number of bathrooms
- Ideal school district
- Ideal amenities
- Preference for new construction
The Harbor City Homebuyer Questionnaire is designed
to make you think about some of these questions. You can click
here to submit a completed questionnaire to us. However, you
may also want to generate your own, more personalized, lists of
Needs and Wants.
2. How
Much Can You Afford? The maximum amount that you can afford
is typically equal to the amount of your available downpayment,
plus the amount that you are able (and willing) to borrow from a
mortgage lender. You may not want to purchase at a level equal to
your maximum buying power, but it is useful to determine your maximum
buying power before proceeding too far with your property search.
- Available Cash for Downpayment.
If you are a current homeowner, this may be the “equity”
in your current home that you will reinvest in your next purchase,
plus any additional cash you have saved for purposes of purchasing
your next home. Alternatively, you may plan to use funds from
other sources. In any event, you need to determine how much available
cash you are willing to dedicate to the purchase of your next
home.
- Ability to Borrow. Most
lenders will look primarily to your household income and expenses
to determine the amount that you are qualified to borrow. They
will also examine your existing “net worth” (assets
minus liabilities) and your credit history. Before going too far
down the road toward your next home purchase, you should meet
with a lender and get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a mortgage
loan (see discussion above).
3. Take
Advantage of Harbor City Search Tools. You may already
know the exact neighborhood where you want to live. If not, you
should take advantage of the search tools that Harbor City has developed
to help you narrow your search. Harbor City’s web-based search
tools are available at no cost to you, regardless of whether you
elect to engage Harbor City as your buyer’s agent.
- Harbor City Online Neighborhood
Guide. If you are not familiar with Charleston area
neighborhoods, Harbor City has already done a lot of the homework
for you. Our Online Neighborhood Guides includes maps, photos
and descriptions of many of the Charleston area’s most appealing
neighborhoods. Click here to explore
the Harbor City Online Neighborhood Guide.
- Search the Entire Charleston Metro
Area MLS from Harbor City’s Website. Harbor
City has made a significant investment to provide the users of
our website with the most sophisticated and user-friendly MLS
search engine interface that we could find on the market. We worked
with a software development team to customize a search engine
that is very easy to use, in contrast to the “clunky”
search engines found at many other real estate websites. Included
among the advanced features of our search engine are: (a) a “SearchSaver”
feature that gives you the power save your search criteria and
receive automatic email notification whenever a new listing meeting
your criteria appears on the market; and (b) save your “Favorite”
homes for sale in a personalized folder for your future reference.
Click here to start searching the MLS now using the Harbor City
Residential MLS Search Engine.
4.
Obtain a Free Consultation from Harbor City. At Harbor
City, we offer a free consultation to interested homebuyers. During
your consultation, a Harbor City agent can provide you with a preview
of our services, and also take the opportunity to demonstrate some
of the search tools available to you on our website. All initial
consultations are provided without “sales pressure”
and without any obligation to engage Harbor City as your buyer’s
agent. However, we do hope to make a good impression with you and
we welcome the chance to become your buyer’s agent when you
think the time is right.
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