7 Steps to Buying a Home in Salem, Oregon

Prequalification is dipping your toe in the water before diving in. It's deciding to buy, learning about financing options, getting numbers and shopping lenders without having your credit pulled or committing to a full application. 

Often prequalification is just confirming product and pricing as a prelude to a full application. Other times it can be an extended period of coaching, planning and goal setting for a purchase sometime in the future.

Whatever the case may be, Mighty Mortgage is here to answer any questions you might have about loan programs, pricing, and home loan qualification. Contact us today! 

Selling your current home to buy another? Get a pre-sale consultation BEFORE listing your home for sale. Explore the options and strategies for applying the proceeds from the sale of your current home toward the purchase of your next one.  

Can you use a portion of the sale proceeds to pay off other loans. eliminate those payments, and still have enough money left over to buy the next house? At Mighty Mortgage it's free to review the math and find out.     

You've found the perfect home and you're ready to make an offer. Show the seller you're serious with a Preapproval from Mighty Mortgage Home Loans!

Here we run credit, verify scores, and collect documentation. Typically; driver's license, most recent pay stubs, W2's, and current account statements. Since there is some work involved the time to get preapproved is BEFORE the right home comes along and it's time to write the offer. Don't let the perfect property slip away! If you're planning to buy a home, start your Mighty Mortgage preapproval today.  

The written sales agreement is often called the "earnest money agreement" because upon mutual acceptance of the offer, the buyer is usually required to deposit earnest money into escrow to demonstrate that they are earnest. The amount of the earnest money is negotiable but 1% of the sales price is fairly routine. 

Besides the sales price and earnest money amount, the purchase agreement should also specify the closing date and possession dates, along with any other contingencies such as; the sale of other real estate, seller paid closing costs, and anything included with the property such as refrigerator, washer and dryer, or other personal property. 

With your home and money on the line you want a mortgage professional with decades of exclusive Oregon home loan experience on your home buying team. Contact Mighty Mortgage today.   

Read your contract carefully but sale agreements typically contain a home inspection contingency window that allows the buyer to have the home professionally inspected, and gives the buyer the option to cancel or re-negotiate the transaction if something unacceptable is discovered. This inspection window is usually limited to the first few days after the seller accepts the offer, so when it comes to the home inspection, time is of the essence. 

Common inspections include the home inspection*, sewer scope, and testing for radon gas. Buyers of properties on private wells and septic systems may seek additional inspections for these systems.

*Note: The home inspection isn't about the value of the home, but rather it's condition. The home inspector crawls the crawl space, looks in the attic, checks the mechanical systems of the home and issues the buyer a detailed report of the findings. 

Otherwise, the lender's appraisal isn't a home inspection so don't rely on it to reveal problems with the home like a complete home inspection should. The appraisal is the lender's eyes on the collateral for lending purposes. The primary focus of the appraisal is the market value and this is determined by comparing the the property with recent sales of similar homes in the surrounding neighborhood. 

For the most part the appraiser isn't looking for problems with the home but if there are any obvious health, safety, structural, or code issues the appraisal may come back "subject to" addressing any areas of concern. Depending on the loan program and other factors, the lender may not even require an appraisal, but in these cases the buyer can still request one anyway.       

Once you have an accepted offer to buy a property Mighty Mortgage gets busy collecting title reports, appraisals, insurance binders, and clearing up any loan approval conditions.  

Communication is key and you'll always know where you are in the process and the next steps, with clear and constant updates. 

"Signing," "closing," and "possession" all mean different things. Here's the details:

"Signing" the closing documents and depositing the remainder your funds in escrow is not the final closing. There's more to it than that.

"Closing" does not occur until the seller has also signed their paperwork, the loan has funded, and the deed transferring ownership to you has been recorded with the county. 

The gap between signing and closing can be same day, or several days, and it's generally good practice to sign a day or more in advance of the actual closing date for scheduling convenience and also to allow time for the lender and escrow to process the signed closing documents and money.

"Possession" of the property doesn't automatically happen at closing. The possession date is negotiable and it occurs when the buyer receives the keys and has permission to occupy the property according to the terms of the sales agreement. In rare circumstances buyer possession can occur prior to closing, but usually the house is occupied by the seller and they need a few days after closing to move out. If the seller needs more than a few days to move out, a rent back agreement may be arranged. 

Otherwise if the property is occupied by renters or tenants they may have legal rights to continue occupying the property after closing. Bottom line, purchase agreements vary so check yours to to see what it has to say about the closing and possession dates of the home. It's a negotiable item so be sure to take it into account when structuring your offer and planning your move.           

Richard Gessford has been closing loans for Oregon home owners since 1984. Put his experience to work for you!