FINANCING

LAS VEGAS

HOME SEARCH

 

ACCEPTED

OFFER TO

CLOSING

LAS VEGAS HOME BUYERS GUIDE

Buying a home in Las Vegas, whether a first time or repeat home buyer, and for a resale home or new home construction, you should know about the best ways to go about your purchase.  While that might seem obvious for a first time buyer, even those who have purchased before need this information about the home buying process.  Real Estate laws, requirements and market conditions may have changed since your last purchase, or if relocating to Las Vegas, may be different than your home state or country.  What you’ll see in my four part video guide is an overview of what you’ll want to know to make your experience as simple and successful as possible. You’ll also learn of the common mistakes home buyers can make, and how I can help you avoid them

Before you go shopping for anything, whether cash buyer or credit, of course you need to know what you can afford to spend. When shopping for a home, not only do you want to know this before starting a search, but you’ll need to document your ability to have funds available, either cash or financing, simply to make an offer on a home.  For luxury homes, you’ll typically need this proof of funds just to view the home.  So in either case you’ll want to know what documentation you’ll need for foreign or cash buyers,  or the difference between being pre-qualified and pre approved when using a home loan, and much more. For those using a lender, you’ll also find out what to ask when shopping for your financing. There is more than just the amount you are approved, it’s cost to you, and what you feel is affordable to your budget.  There are some other questions you’ll need answered by the lender, before choosing them.

FOR LAS VEGAS NEW HOME AND RESALE BUYERS - A WARNING! Even resale buyers, when in “Home Buying Mode” can make this mistake.  Did you know that you could easily give up your benefit of having your own buyer’s agent representation with a home builder, that like resale buyers, is normally at no cost to you.  Registering online or visiting a builder’s home site without your agent, or having them register you, can make you loose this important benefit, and add risk to your new home purchase.  Resale buyers that change their mind and switch to new homes can also get caught up in this, and unfortunately once I’m excluded from the sale I’m unable to assist you. For any home search, long gone are the days of cruising neighborhoods in search of a For Sale sign, or scouring tiny newspaper classifieds that might have a near microscopic picture.  Yes, the Internet and technology of today have made searching for you new home, and your Las Vegas buyer’s agent, so much easier… and unfortunately, much more confusing. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of technology.  You wouldn’t be reading this or be able to watch my Las Vegas videos of homes, communities, and area events, without it.  The questions is, are all these online Real Estate sites helping your search and purchase your new home, or could they be hurting it? Here you’ll find the answer to that question.  From how accurate online home values are, to how a website’s “preferred agent” gets that status.  You’ll also see how their grab of raw data can cause misleading conclusions.  Most important of all, they don’t have any special access to “secret” homes listings on the Greater Las Vegas MLS.  Any of their “extra MLS listings” are homes that are already sold or under contract, and chasing them will only waste your time and add to your frustration.

MAKING OFFERS

So we’ve searched and viewed homes and have found that great home in your price range, and you’ve decided that you want to make an offer.  Or we’ve looked at new homes from various Las Vegas Home Builders at different home sites and you’ve decided on the community and model of your dream home.  So what happens now? For a resale, this is when a number of things have to be considered.  To be successful, the amount of your offer needs to be reasonable and in the range of true comparable sales values, as not to insult the seller or go overboard on price.  This is especially important when financing, for the appraisal to be possible.  You’ll want to decide what options or decisions you may or may not have if the home doesn’t appraise.  There are also options you’ll need to know for the contingencies needed to best protect your interests, and any additional terms that you may want to ask of the seller.  For that you’ll also want to have an understanding of real estate terms, like a clean offer, a strong offer, and EMD, Of course not all offers are simply accepted or rejected.  Negotiations of counter offers can happen from either side.  For a very desirable home it’s not unusual to expect the possibility of multiple offers.  You’ll need to know what happens in these various situations.  For a new home, or one that is under construction or standing inventory, the process is a little different, but many of the same circumstances are involved.  Instead of writing an offer these home sales are on the builder’s contracts.  So here we’ll need to review their terms and any contingencies.  The difference is that typically negotiations are more limited, and if financial incentives are offered they typically require using their “Preferred Lender.”  This is where you can compare what is offered with your lender you’ve used for your pre-approval on part 1.  This gives you a backup in a case where you are either turned down by the builder’s lender or they’ve change their terms. 

So we’ve searched and viewed homes and have found that great home in your price range, and you’ve decided that you want to make an offer.  Or we’ve looked at new homes from various Las Vegas Home Builders at different home sites and you’ve decided on the community and model of your dream home.  So what happens now? For a resale, this is when a number of things have to be considered.  To be successful, the amount of your offer needs to be reasonable and in the range of true comparable sales values, as not to insult the seller or go overboard on price.  This is especially important when financing, for the appraisal to be possible.  You’ll want to decide what options or decisions you may or may not have if the home doesn’t appraise.  There are also options you’ll need to know for the contingencies needed to best protect your interests, and any additional terms that you may want to ask of the seller.  For that you’ll also want to have an understanding of real estate terms, like a clean offer, a strong offer, and EMD, Of course not all offers are simply accepted or rejected.  Negotiations of counter offers can happen from either side.  For a very desirable home it’s not unusual to expect the possibility of multiple offers.  You’ll need to know what happens in these various situations.  For a new home, or one that is under construction or standing inventory, the process is a little different, but many of the same circumstances are involved.  Instead of writing an offer these home sales are on the builder’s contracts.  So here we’ll need to review their terms and any contingencies.  The difference is that typically negotiations are more limited, and if financial incentives are offered they typically require using their “Preferred Lender.”  This is where you can compare what is offered with your lender you’ve used for your pre-approval on part 1.  This gives you a backup in a case where you are either turned down by the builder’s lender or they’ve change their terms. At this time is when your Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) comes into play, Escrow is opened, and your Due Diligence Period begins.  You’ll have disclosures and other documents to review, and a home inspection.  The results of all this can go smoothly, possibly lead to further negotiations, or in some cases, withdrawal from your purchase.  Then there are contingencies and the appraisal if you’re financing.  From there is the final walk through just a few days before the closing, recording, and I can give you your keys. So not only is there a lot to do, there can be a lot of “What Ifs” during this time.  While it’s impossible to cover every possible situation, in this video I’ll give you an understanding of the time line, explain what takes place, along with some of your options.  You’ll also see why you’ll want to have my guidance and assistance.