No Stress Home Buying – 3 Musts

Moving, major money transactions, big life commitments, all of them are more or less stressful.

Throw in the home buying process and one can imagine the amount of stressful life experiences!

Well, stressful life experiences can be avoided by following a proper plan/strategy.

Here are 3 management strategies for buying a home that can eliminate your stress:

You should be prepared with the money & documents that the lender would need. Avoid last minute scrambling. Consult a mortgage broker & a real estate professional early to have a clear idea on how much cash and what all you’ll need to close the deal. Have all documents ready like photo ID, address proof, tax returns, paystubs, check stubs, any bills. Also, educate yourself about the standard practices and timelines for a real estate transaction in your local market.

There are as many reasons for late escrow closings as there are insomniac homebuyers facing this issue: buyer’s loan underwriting is taking too long, seller’s short sale application is still being processed, appraisal is glitchy, bank-owned property asset manager is slow to produce the necessary signatures, and the list goes on.

Have the awareness that escrow closing dates are not set in stone until the end is very, very near – and that the problem of delayed closing comes up with ever-increasing frequency these days. Buyers who are trying to time their closing so that they move out of their apartment on the exact day they plan to close are likely to be disappointed – and temporarily will be left homeless – in the current market scenario.

The best practice is to plan on some overlapping days, weeks or even a month between the time you should be able to move into your next home, and the time you must be out of your current home, if you can afford it. Keep your moving plans flexible as long as possible.

There’s nothing worse than having the deal fall apart, for no fault of your own, at the last minute after doing everything you could.

These ailing transactions can be prevented by early diagnosis. For buyers, have your agent collect as much information as possible about the seller’s equity position, how underwater the home is, which banks are involved and how successful the listing agent is at closing short sale transactions – all of which can give your agent and yourself a big clue as to whether a short sale is likely to close.  Similarly, if you’re getting an FHA loan, before you make an offer, walk through the property with your agent and troubleshoot it for condition problems that might come up during the appraisal.

With planning & realistic expectations – there’s bound to be little or no stress.