Buying in Oakland or Lapeer County?
Buying a home especially for the first time can be an exciting thought and most of the process is pretty fun; Looking at homes, visualizing your personal things in a new place, and the anticipation of living someplace new and fresh. It can also start to be pretty stressful when it comes to details, timelines and negotiations. The last thing you need is to have the listing agent of whatever home you choose manipulating you along the way. Many listing agents do sell their own properties but there is nothing smarter than having your own Oxford/Lapeer buyer’s representative with you for the entire transaction and beyond.
Using a buyers agent instead of letting the listing agent conduct the entire transaction can actually save you money and headaches now and in the long run. While a listing agent is really only working for the seller, a buyer’s agent is only working for you, the buyer. The best thing about this arrangement is you don’t even have to pay a buyer’s agent. As your representative we will receive a commission on whatever home you and your family choose from the seller. We don’t have a hidden agenda to sell one home over the other and strive to make sure you have all the details necessary to make an informed buying situation.
As your buyer’s representative for Oxford/Lapeer homes, we also negotiate for your terms and your price. There is no need to ever communicate directly with the seller or listing agent if you choose not to. We handle the entire process from pre-approval on a loan to closing. There is nothing better than handing you the keys to your new home.
Some details you will want to know before you start your Lapeer/Oakland County homes search:
Get Pre-Approved if you are obtaining financing for your home. Having a lender write out a pre-approval letter ahead of time helps you know how much you can afford and let’s the sellers know you are a serious buyer.
Have some funds set aside for inspection costs, earnest money deposit and reserves. Lenders don’t like to see that you will be spending every cent you have on a home so make sure that along with the inspection costs and earnest money you have some funds in savings or reserves just in case.
Know what you want before you start looking. Having a clear sense of your needs and wants before looking at homes removes the feeling of “we’ll just know it when we see it” mentality. This can lead to problems in the future and quite shockingly, the wrong house altogether. Know your plans, family needs and layout you desire before looking at Oakland/Lapeer County homes.
Why buy with us?
Everyone dreams of owning their own home. When buying your first home, it can be a very exciting, yet anxiety-filled experience. However, if you know what to expect during the home buying process you will be more relaxed and comfortable knowing that we will be by your side every step of the way guiding you through it and looking out for your best interests. Below are some of the things we will be helping you with along the way!
Start your Home Search HereSetting a Budget
Before the house hunting process begins, it is important to know how much you can afford. Expenses to consider include the down payment, monthly expenses, property taxes, and any home insurance costs. These will all have to be considered before the home buying process begins as they are typically included in your new monthly payment. Since a person’s credit score determines their interest rate, knowing your score ahead of time can help you decide if now is a good time to buy or not. An individual’s debt-to-income ratio must also fall within acceptable limits of the home’s cost. Once you have determined these things, and if you feel that your budget has enough room to afford a new home, then its time to begin the home buying process!
Getting Pre-Approved
When looking for a loan, be sure to get more than one loan quote to get the best interest rate and loan terms for your mortgage. Different banks and companies will offer different loan origination fees and by shopping around you can oftentimes save yourself a lot of money. Be sure to also check your loan officer’s website for testimonials and information. A good loan officer will offer you many online resources and tools. Before you lock in your rate, be sure to check the daily rate with the rate your loan officer gives you to ensure you are getting the lowest rate possible. Interest rates will determine how much a mortgage will cost each month and come in fixed or adjustable terms. Mortgage lengths can range from 15 years to 30 years with some loan providers now offering 40-year mortgages as well. The longer the repayment term, the lower the payments will be. However, the interest accrued will also be higher on a longer loan.
Making an Offer & Negotiations
There is an art to making an offer on a home. Typically, sellers place their home’s value a little higher than their desired price. A buyer will send in a lower bid, in a reasonable range, and the seller will counter with an offer somewhere in the middle. We will be watching for signs of problems in the home and will make suggestions to you regarding the offer. Listen closely and be sure to ask questions, as your offer is an important part of buying a home. You want to make sure all of your bases are covered. That’s where having us as your Buyer’s Agent is most valuable so your rights and interests are protected. With our experience on your side, we will be able to help you negotiate a lower price that sometimes includes concessions or closing costs and avoid homes that have problems. Our job is to protect YOU in the contract.
Escrow and Closing Costs
Before the home is legally transferred to you, the closing process must occur. During this phase, you will sign all of the mortgage documents, pay closing costs, and sign various other legal documents. We will be there to help you through it all. Once all of the papers are signed and monies are transferred, the keys to your new home are yours! The only thing left to do is move into your humble abode. This may occur immediately after the closing or at the date set in the closing documents.
Better Home Search
Our website has the best online tools to search for your home! In fact, it’s even better than Zillow, Trulia, and the many other real estate websites out there because our site is directly connected to the local MLS! What does that mean for you? Accuracy and Advantage! When you search homes here, you get the most up-to-date homes and properties available with the most accurate information! AND, if you sign up for Deal Alerts, you will get alerted of NEWEST Property matches & Price Changes BEFORE any other site has them! First, start by trying one of our Search tools in the menu. Try the Advanced search to choose specific options & customize your results based on all of the things you wish for in your new home. Second, Save your Search and you will be set up for auto alerts when a new home hits the market that matches! You can also try the Map search which offers a unique perspective by allowing you to use the polygon tool on the side to create boundaries on a map around the areas you want to live in. Already know the address of the property you want? Try the Address Search. OR if you have the property ID you can use the Listing Search to search by MLS#. Find a home you like? Simply click on the Schedule a showing button and send us an alert. We will schedule the time and confirm with you once it is set up! Once you have started searching, be sure to check out your My Account page so you can manage your Saved Searches & Favorite properties. The My Account feature has a ton of great tools designed to cater directly to you and provide you with a home-buying experience. And it’s Mobile friendly!
Home Insurance
Lenders normally require that you insure your home. Home Insurance Policies cover the costs to fix any damages that might occur to the home. The price of this insurance is dependent on a home’s age, location, value, and the insurance company you choose. Be sure to call around and get several quotes or ask us for a list of vendors we work with. Insurance agents will oftentimes be able to take your information over the phone and get back to you the same day with a quote. Once you choose a company to insure your new home, the cost of that policy is normally added into your closing costs and sent into an escrow account to be paid to the insurance company directly the first year.
Home Inspections
Getting a home inspection is a vital part of the home buying process. These inspections ensure that the home’s foundation, ceiling, heating, electrical system, walls, plumbing, and entryways are up to certain standards. Sometimes the bank will require a home inspection; however, many times they leave it to the buyer to purchase their own. It is extremely important to protect yourself by getting a home inspection right away. You typically have 10 days from an accepted offer to get the home inspected. Many buyers have been saved from disaster by taking the time to spend the extra $200 – $400 to get a home inspection only to find out the house has major problems allowing them to back out of the contract before it is too late. If you need help finding a Home Inspector, ask us! We can give you recommendations for many service providers that we work with all the time!
Your Expert Lapeer and Oakland County MI Realtor
As your sole representative of your Lapeer County real estate and Oakland County homes, we use our experience and skilled training to negotiate for any Oxford / Lapeer area homes on your behalf. Using ethical and aggressive negotiating tactics we will strive to get the terms and price you are hoping for. Bringing buyers and sellers together in a stress-free and easy transaction is always our goal and as top producing agents in our field we guarantee our work not only now but for your future purchases as well.
We can assist in any home, property or building in the entire Lapeer, Oakland, Genesee and Macomb County area including but not limited to:
- Lapeer MI homes for sale, Lapeer real estate, property and Lapeer homes
- Oxford MI homes for sale, real estate, properties and land
- Metamora MI real estate, homes for sale, houses and property
- Lake Orion MI homes for sale, property, vacant land, acreage or Lake Orion MI real estate
- Lapeer County Real Estate and Oakland County Homes
As your Oxford/Lapeer MI Realtor, it is our duty and job to make sure your real estate transaction is as hassle free as possible. We want our customers to be life long clients. Feel free to contact us anytime for updated Lapeer/Oakland County listings, home values and questions on Oxford/Lapeer homes or real estate in the Oakland or Lapeer County area. Call my cell at (810) 338-0628 or email us anytime at teamsuccesslisting@gmail.com
See what our clients are saying:
If you are undecided on where you want to move, Don Horne is the Realtor to go to. He spent over 2 years helping us find our dream home in MI, always willing to drive wherever and whenever we wanted to see a listing. Moving from AZ there were a lot of long distance phone calls. When we finally found the right one, it was a very smooth process. Thanks Don!
Donald Horne did an excellent job on both the finding & closing on my condo as well as the sale of my old condo. I am more than happy to recommend his services to my family & friends!
Thank you Don and Shirley for selling our house so quickly and finding us the perfect condo! You are a great team! We would highly recommend you to anyone selling or buying!
Shirley helped us through the process of buying our dream home and making us comfortable with an original for sale by owner deal. She made the paperwork seamless and we closed very fast. When we sold our home, she put the perfect price to get the buyers in the door and within 4 days we had our accepted offer. Everything was so smooth, and we felt like we were in great hands!
You guys are awesome! Thank you again for everything, you made my first home buying experience one to remember. I would recommend you guys to anyone in the market for a realtor!
Thanks to Don and Shirley, we were able to sell our house and buy a new one with ease. Thank you to Team Success Listing for everything!!
Just closed on our house, Don and Shirley from Team Success Listing have been amazing, now onto our next adventure, buying our 2nd. house from Don and Shirley. We love them and our closing couldn’t have gone better!
Best Realtors! Shirley Grindle and Don Horne!
Very impressed with his marketing. I highly recommend Donald Horne’s services.
We bought our first home and had Mr. Horne as our agent. He was able to negotiate the best deal for us and make buying a home a great experience. He’s a wonderful agent to deal with and is very knowledgeable about the ever changing market. Thank you Don! We could not have done it without you!
Thank you for being so kind to us. We are moving in a little at a time. God’s blessing be upon you!
I just want to say “thank you” to you and Shirley for your help in finding me a place. I truly appreciate your help and concern for me!! Thank you so much!