Written by
Matt Chabal

Complete Home Buying Guide

There are many benefits to buying your own home. In fact, each benefit is uniquely personal based upon your needs.

Whether you’re buying a single-family home, attached house, apartment, condo, or investment property, the benefits of owning Real Estate are numerous. The first step is getting prepared. This includes understanding your local Real Estate market and understanding the full buying process. Working with an experienced Real Estate group like Chabal Real Estate can make understanding this processing so much easier!

chapter 1

How Much Can I Afford?

Much like anything in life, money matters in Real Estate.  A home is a big purchase, and you’ll be responsible for more than just the purchase price.  Getting in contact with a LOCAL lender is your best resource for understanding the different loan types, the requirements for said loans, and the actual out of pocket costs related to them.  Ask you local lender about any special programs you may qualify for.  Examples may include First-Time Home Buyer Programs, Veteran Programs, First Responder Programs, and more!  Your lender will issue you an ever-important Pre-Qualification Letter indicating the maximum amount you may borrow to purchase a home. Depending on your qualifications you may also be responsible for paying Mortgage Insurance, also known as PMI. This is an addition charge the lender will require you to pay on a monthly basis if you do not have 20% equity in the home.

As a buyer, not only will you be responsible for a portion of the purchase price, but you will also be required to pay additional closing costs.  Closing costs are fees and expenses you pay when you close on a house, beyond the down payment.  These costs generally run 3-5% of the loan amount and may include Title Insurance, attorney and notary fees, appraisals, taxes, and more.

Your monthly payment will also include more than just the principal and interest you owe to the bank. Homeowner’s insurance and your local property tax will make up the other portion.  Make sure you take these additional costs into account when calculating how much house you can afford.  There are many payment calculators online to help you calculate these costs.

chapter 2

How to Find a Home?

The best way to find a home is to work with a local Realtor or Real Estate Agent. It’s a Realtor’s livelihood to make sure they understand the local housing market in great detail.  Did you know that when working with a Realtor or Real Estate Agent, their services are provided at no cost to you?  That’s right! Working with a Real Estate Agent will not cost you a dime!  

A Real Estate Agent will help you with your search by giving you access directly to your area’s Multiple Listing Service, known as the MLS.  The MLS is where houses are listed by other real estate agents to be viewed by the clients of Realtors.  With access to the MLS you will get to view houses BEFORE they are posted to sites such as Zillow and Realtor.com.  You will also have a more detailed look into the property characteristics of a home.  

At this time, the real estate market in many areas is experiencing rapidly increasing home prices and record low supply.  This has been propelled by historically low mortgage rates.  Your local real estate agent will be able to help you manage your expectations around how competitive your local housing market is.

chapter 3

Making an Offer

Another benefit of working with a Realtor or Real Estate Agent is their extensive knowledge of the process of making and getting an offer accepted for a property.  Making your first offer can be intimidating! But with the help of our experienced agents at Chabal Real Estate, we’ll increase the strength of your offer and therefore your chance of an offer getting accepted in a tough market.  It’s during this part of the process that you will present the seller with your Pre-Qualification Letter from the lender to prove you are well qualified to purchase the home.

Components of an Offer

  • Price: The total amount the seller can expect to receive when the purchase is complete
  • Seller Concessions: The amount of money a buyer can ask the seller to pay at closing to help the buyer cover closing costs.
  • Contingencies: Generally, an offer will be contingent on a couple of items being satisfied.  The two most common contingencies are the buyer being satisfied with a Home Inspection and the buyer’s lender appraising the house at the purchase price.
  • Close Date: The date the buyer and seller will close the transaction.  Generally a home purchase takes anywhere from 30-60 days, with 45 days being about average. 

When you’re ready, we’ll review each component and how it affects the strength of the offer, you financially, and the impact on the closing timeline. Remember to keep your offer in line with your personal financial goals.  Be sure you can afford the monthly payment, home insurance, and property tax.  If necessary, you can always consult a financial advisor beforehand so that we can make the strongest offer possible.


chapter 4

Offer Acceptance, Request for Repairs, Title/Closing Company

After you have an offer accepted on a house, you will immediately begin the formal mortgage process with your local lender; remember this usually take between 30 and 45 days. In most cases, you will also hire a licensed home inspector to conduct a home inspection.  If the inspection yields any defects with the home you the purchaser may request that the seller remedy all issues found on the inspection.  Because it is a negotiation, the seller has the right to reject some or all items presented by a buyer.  This is another reason to work with Chabal Real Estate, as We Negotiate for You!

It’s during this time that the executed purchase agreement will be submitted to the buyer’s title company.  The Title Company’s role is to collect all of the documentation related to the purchase and process it with the local municipality that they property is located in. They will also offer title insurance, which is an insurance policy that the lender will require a buyer to purchase.


chapter 5

Closing Day!

Congratulations, you are almost to the finish line!  It’s been about 30 to 45 days and you have been working diligently with your lender while the seller has fulfilled all of their obligations set out in the purchase agreement.  It is at this time that we will conduct your final walkthrough of the home.  The last steps include organizing your finances to bring the required “Cash to Close” on closing day (usually a cashier’s check or a wire), transferring utilities into your name, and coordinating the final walkthrough and moving trucks.  Practice your signature, because you’ll feel like you’ve never signed your name more than you will on closing day!  Closing day is our favorite day at Chabal Real Estate, as we finally get to hand you the keys to you new home.  Congratulations, you just bought your first house!

chapter 6

chapter 7

Want to find out more about buying a home?

Contact us to set up a homebuying consultation. We'll discuss the market, financial goals, and other home buying topics.

about the author

Matt Chabal

REALTOR | INVESTOR | ENTREPRENEUR

Matt​ is a University of Richmond graduate who quit his Financial Consulting job in DC to move back to Richmond to start his own Real Estate business.  He learned early on that people care more about how they are treated while providing a service, and translates this into his real estate business today.  Matt has built a team to ensure his clients have a smooth buying or selling process, utilizing current technology and all market tools available.  Always enjoying the social aspects of being a Realtor, he can always be convinced to play a round of golf, so book a tee time!