BUYER'S GUIDE

Are you looking to sell your home in New York or the surrounding areas? To get the best value for your property, you need an experienced real estate team by your side. Read on to learn more about the home selling process, use our online tool to see what your home might be worth, and contact the DH Citadel Real Estate team to get started!

It’s important to start reading real estate listings to discover what types of properties you are interested in, and what the price-range is for those particular homes. However, it’s best to get the DH Citadel Real Estate team involved in the early stages of your home search.

While many traditional lenders desire a down-payment equal to 20% of the cost of your home, there are many types of home loans available. Ultimately, you need to look at your unique financial situation when deciding how much house you can afford.

This is an essential step towards buying a home — and it is much simpler than it sounds! Here’s what you need to do:

  • Get prequalified - Provide a mortgage lender with some basic information about your finances, which they will use to determine how much they can lend you.
  • Get prequalified - Provide a mortgage lender with some basic information about your finances, which they will use to determine how much they can lend you.

At DH Citadel Real Estate, our agents can provide you with valuable market insights, including detailed statistics about the schools, information about the neighborhoods and surrounding areas, and more! Most importantly, our team can answer all of your questions, guide you through the buying process with ease, and help you negotiate prices when it’s time to make an offer.

Find some homes you are interested in, and start scheduling tours and attending open houses! If you are having a hard time finding what you are looking for, our team can match your needs with some of our current listings, and even introduce you to our newest listings, so you can get a headstart on other prospective buyers.

Your trusted agent at DH Citadel Real Estate can help you arrange a comprehensive home inspection to check the structural integrity of the home and look for any needed repairs. Your offer will be contingent on the results of this home inspection, meaning you can renegotiate or withdraw your offer if any significant concerns are identified during the inspection, without being penalized for doing so.

Our team will connect you with a trusted mortgage lender who will walk you through the loan programs available to you, and help you choose the one that works best for your financial situation. Depending on your needs, you may want to choose a loan that will keep your payments as low as possible, opt for a fixed-rate mortgage that ensures your payments never increase, or explore other options with your mortgage banker.

Once you’ve selected a loan, your lender will arrange for a third-party appraisal of the property you are buying. This is meant to ensure that both the buyer and seller are receiving fair prices for the home. As long as you’ve followed all of the other steps to this point, this is usually a fairly streamlined process. Can you feel your move-in date getting closer?

Deep breaths, I said “coordinate” for a reason. While you can certainly expect to complete a lot of paperwork before closing on your new home, you won’t be alone! Your mortgage lender will connect you with a title company that can handle all of the detailed paperwork for you. The title company will ensure that everything about the purchase is in order, and that the seller is the rightful owner of the home you are buying. At this stage, there’s only one thing left to do.

You made it! It’s closing day, and a few strokes of the pen are all that’s standing between you and your new home. After signing your loan documents and all other required paperwork, you will send the information to your lender and wait a few days while the loan is finalized and funded. As soon as the seller receives their check in the mail, you can walk into your home and begin an exciting new chapter! Congratulations!

Home Buying Guide

The home-buying process can move quickly once you make an offer on a house, closing in as little as three to four weeks and taking up to six to finalize a purchase. Of course, the journey to finding a house can prove more challenging and time-consuming.

But it doesn't have to.

Below, we've put together a home buying reference guide that touches on the high points of five significant steps in the process of buying a home:
 
  • Engage an experienced real estate agent
  • Review your finances and seek out pre approval
  • Tour properties
  • Make an offer
  • Time to close
There are nuances with every home search and more things to consider based on the type of home you're buying and where you're buying it (a historic, coastal home, for example). This guide will at least prepare you for most standard home searches. And it all starts with hiring an experienced real estate agent.
 

Engage an experienced real estate agent

Though hard to quantify on paper, your real estate agent is a valuable resource of local data, insight, and first-hand knowledge. More than a tour guide, your agent helps provide:
 
  • The pros and cons of neighborhoods or specific residential buildings and where to buy based on your lifestyle needs (young professional, growing family, or ready to retire)
  • Information about an area's top public and private schools or childcare facilities 
  • Insight into a city or county's zoning codes, ordinances, or regulations that may impact your home purchase 
  • Knowledge of the best places to eat, drink and seek entertainment or explore the outdoors
  • Experienced representation at the negotiation table and throughout the buying process, helping you secure the best home at a price that works for you 

Review your finances and seek out preapproval

Before buying a home, you want to ensure your finances are sound and that not only will you be approved for a home, but you can afford it long term. 

This is also an excellent time to determine what you want from your home and your preferred neighborhoods, as they will significantly impact your costs. Create a budget, and remember to apply fees before and after you close on the home. 

When shopping for loans — and yes, you can and should shop for loans — you can get prequalified relatively quickly, but if you are serious about buying, seek pre approval instead.
 

Tour properties

The best part about the home buying process is when you get to peek behind the curtains of other people's homes with the hope of making one of them yours. A key component in choosing the right home is picking the right neighborhood. 

Along with your needs and wants for the house, create a similar list for the neighborhood, conducting some personal due diligence. Be sure to:
 
  • Drive around your favorite neighborhoods during different times of the day and week
  • Assess whether the homes are well-maintained 
  • Note how convenient the commute will be to work, school, retail, or entertainment
  • Verify school information and neighborhood amenities to ensure it's a place you want to live

Make an offer

Once you've narrowed down the right home and neighborhood, make an offer. 

Your real estate agent will prove to be a valuable asset by helping you create a competitive offer. They'll account for area comps and past sales to determine if the list price is fair and if you have room to maneuver.

When finalizing your number, be sure it's a price you are comfortable submitting. Especially in competitive markets, where buyers are forced to bid high, you don't want to regret later trying to win a bidding war or agree to conditions that could hurt you financially long-term.

Once a seller does accept, earnest money changes hands, and the home is under contract.
 

Time to close

The closing process can seem a bit dizzying with its numerous moving parts, but you can take comfort knowing that all of it is moving towards a singular goal. Some of what to expect includes:
 
  • Execute option fee
  • Deposit earnest money
  • Submit loan application
  • Lender appraisal
  • Home inspection
  • Negotiate repairs or credits with the seller
  • Title search and tax verification
  • Final walkthrough to ensure repairs are complete
  • Provide proof of homeowners insurance
  • Prepare any closing costs
  • Settlement and execution of paperwork
Should something from the inspection prove less-than-satisfactory, you can negotiate repairs or a credit for the issues. If the seller balks, you can still back away from the deal. But assuming all goes well, the whole process moves swiftly. After that, you can expect to:
  • Pay any closing costs or fees
  • Execute the necessary paperwork 
  • Have the property title transferred to your name and sign the paperwork
  • Establish an escrow account for taxes, insurance, or HOA fees
Once everything is complete, fees are paid, and papers are signed, the keys to your new home are now yours.
 

What we do for you

If you're seeking the ideal home in the perfect neighborhood, you should consider The DH Citadel Real Estate to help you secure your next great home. 
 
  • As a boutique real estate firm, our hands-on approach and concierge-level service ensure that we'll do whatever is necessary to make your home search highly successful.
  • More than just real estate agents, we are customer service providers. That service extends well beyond the home buying process to ensure you're not just happy with your purchase but that you are thriving in your home. If there's something not quite right after moving in, let us know, and we'll do whatever we can to make it right. 
  • We’ll go out of our way to ensure that the home buying process is fun, fulfilling, and a true partnership that meets your every need.

WORK WITH US

The DH Citadel Real Estate not only has agents that speak more than 10 languages but believes in working with the best in the industry, stager’s builders, architects, attorneys, inspectors, mortgage bankers which you can use at your own convenience.

CONTACT US

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Contact Details

The DH Citadel Real Estate

Phone

(516) 412-6363

Email

[email protected]

Address

255 Executive Dr., #107 Plainview, NY 11803

The DH Citadel Real Estate, LLC
515 Madison Avenue 9th Flr.,
New York, NY-10022
(646) 908-2683

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