Buying a home is a big deal and navigating the real estate landscape can be overwhelming. But fear not, because in this video, we’re going to demystify the process of buying a home in Central MS. Buckle up, grab a seat and let’s dive into the video!
First up is understanding the central Mississippi market. Currently between Brandon and Madison, there are 380 active listings, ranging in price from $52,000 to $1,750,000. So as you can see there is plenty to choose from, no matter your price point. Homes in the Central MS area typically sell quick so if you are starting your home search, be sure to be prepared so you don’t lose out on your dream home! And that leads us to the first step in the home buying process, accessing your finances and credit score followed up with a call to a mortgage lender and if you don’t know where to start, reach out to me and I can put you in touch with reputable local lenders. This is a critical part in the process for the reasons of you will know your budget, loan type and other key items that will narrow down exactly what area and type of home you can consider. And if you are not aware, there are several different home loans and the down payment requirements all differ. USDA and VA loans are $0 down to qualified buyers, FHA is minimum 3.5% down and conventional loans are anywhere from 3-20 percent down so you do have options to explore what works best for you. A mortgage lender will be able to walk you through every step to find the your best financial choice. Once you have the mortgage loan details worked out, that’s when you can start the fun part of touring homes and finding the right one for you!
That takes us to the next step, finding the right real estate agent who knows the central MS market well. (I may know of one, hint hint 😉) Make a wish list of your wants and needs that you are looking for in a home and share those with your agent so they can keep that in mind when searching for properties for you and one thing a lot of buyers don’t understand is that your agent can show you any home listed in our MLS and make appts for you to view so that stress is taken off of you as a buyer. Your agent is there to guide you through every step of the process and negotiate on your behalf to get you the best deal possible. An experienced and knowledgeable agent is very important in the negotiation process and in the home buying journey.
When the time has come and you find that perfect home that you want to submit an offer on, you will work with your agent to come up with a competitive and reasonable offer to submit to the seller. The seller will then accept, reject or make a counter offer. A counter offer is when they suggest different terms than the original offer such as different sales price, closing costs, additional terms etc. When both the buyer and sellers come to an agreement, the contract is then executed by both parties and you proceed to the next step which is typically the home inspection. This helps identify any potential issues or necessary repairs. The buyer gets to choose which licensed home inspector they would like to perform the inspection and if you are not familiar with any, your real estate agent can give you several suggestions to choose from. Once the inspection is complete, you will receive a written report from the inspector and you can submit a list of repair requests to the seller. Based on the inspection results, you may need to negotiate with the seller for repairs, repair credit or adjustments to the selling price. Also if anything major comes back on the inspection that you are not comfortable with moving forward, you as the buyer do have the right to forego the contract. Once everything is settled and finalized with the home inspection, the lender will then order the appraisal. A home appraisal is a process through which a real estate appraiser determines the fair market value of a home by using comparables of similar homes sold in the same area as the subject home.
If you’re thinking of moving to Mississippi, be sure and check out our website www.taylorgroupms.com, it has all MLS listings in Central MS and is updated every 10 minutes. Whether you're buying or selling, our team is here to help every step of the way. Contact us today to get started.
Taylor Realty Group
601-613-9100
