Buying your very own home is going to be one of the most difficult processes you will have to undertake in your life. Along with becoming parents and graduating college, you should know that this is one of the most stressful things that you will ever do. But you also need to remember that it can be exciting.
Charleston, South Carolina is a great place to move to and, provided that you take a look at these Charleston, SC Real Estate options, it has never been easier to buy the home of your dreams. However, if you want to make it as simple and as straightforward as possible, following the steps in this article will be able to help you find the home of your dreams.
Let’s learn more.
Check Your Finances
Most people will inevitably look into obtaining a mortgage when they want to buy a home, and if this is something that you want to do too, you need to make sure you analyze your financial situation to see how this could affect your options to buy. Firstly, you may want to do some research to see how much you could be required to pay in homeownership costs in South Carolina, and Charleston more specifically. On average, homeowners tend to spend $2,559 annually on maintenance costs, but this ultimately depends on the type of house that you decide to buy.
When it comes to your down payment, you will be expected to pay at least 20% for this area of the process, and you will also need to make sure that you can afford to pay for your home’s closing costs. Generally, homeowners need to pay 2-5% of the home’s closing cost, and as many of the homes in South Carolina are valued at $204,820, you will find that this amounts to $4,096-$10,241. You must have the funds needed to pay for this because you are expected to do it as soon as possible.
Start House Hunting
Here comes the fun part. House hunting. There are many beautiful houses to choose from in South Carolina, and Charleston in particular. Before your search, it could be important to note that the various properties that are located here have a maximum of four bedrooms, and have no less than three. But depending on what you are looking for, as well as the neighbourhood that appeals to you the most, you may be able to find just what you are looking for, providing that you have the help of a professional real estate agent.
You may not think this, but the time of year you decide to start looking at a house could affect how many selections there are to choose from. For instance, the month of April is when you could expect to find the most houses, whereas, in November, you may expect there to be a 37% decrease in the number of homes that will be on the real estate market. So, if you want to move into the nicest home in the area that has everything you want to see in a home, you should plan your house-hunting around that particular month.
Make Offers
After you have completed all the tedious, yet important tasks in between, one of the last things you need to do is to make an offer on the house of your choice. During your house-hunting process, it is very likely that you will have found at least one home that you have fallen in love with, so without wasting any more time, you need to put an offer in as soon as possible. Before doing so though, you must know how to make an attractive offer.
Simply knowing that many of the homes in South Carolina stay on the market for 63 days, you need to make sure that your offer offers enough persuasion to the seller to sell to you. 63 days is a short amount of time, so as it has already been stated, you need to move quickly, especially if this is the only home that you have seen and have loved thus far. Alongside submitting the highest price, you may also want to consider writing in different asks to the deal, like no contingencies, as this could increase the likelihood of the seller choosing your bid over other bidders.
When it comes to buying a home in Charleston, South Carolina, or elsewhere, there are lots of important steps that you need to follow to move into the house of your dreams. Whilst only a select few have been listed above, you need to make sure that you follow all the written rules concerning this process, as if you don’t, you will never become a resident of The Palmetto State.
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