Jacksonville NC Real Estate

Purchasing a home can be fun, exciting and is an important step towards your financial security. With the help of a CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc. agent, buying a home or investment property can be easier then you think.  Fortunately, Jacksonville NC is an affordable place to purchase and own a home or investment property.

There are many steps to buying a home or real estate property in North Carolina.  Each region is different with respect to the traditional methods and procedures.  This will be a brief overview will give you a good idea of what to expect.

Getting ready to buy a home.


When you have decided it is time to invest in your financial future, a CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc. agent will be one of the best decision you can make.  Once you have contacted us one of our agents will set up a time when you can talk about the many options of home ownership.  In this initial meeting the agent will explain agency to you and find out what type of home or property you are looking for.  Also the agent will suggest that you get prequalified with a reputable lender.  During your initial meeting with the CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc agent, you will discuss your wants needs and budget for purchasing a home or property. 

Choose the type of agency you are comfortable with.  Your CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc agent is specialized acting as a buyers agent for you.  But also remember that if you find a property that you like and it is listed with the company you will be in a dual agency capacity.   

Getting a mortgage prequalification.


Contacting a mortgage company  is as simple as picking up the phone.  A prequalification letter from a reputable mortgage company has a two fold effect.  First it lets you know what type of price range you will be looking in and second it is a great bargaining tool when you make an offer on a property.  Sometimes during the negotiations the seller may be a little reluctant to agree to a specific term or concession but may be swayed once they know you are credit and financially able to purchase their property.  This also helps a great deal when competing against multiple offers on a property. 

What type of home are you wanting?


When looking for a home their are a number of options from the size of the home, location, amenities, to the size of the lot or yard.  Knowing what you want in a home will make shopping easier and efficient.    Talk to your CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc agent and discuss the many options you are wanting in a property.   Try to come up with a wish list and a needs list.  A needs list is something the property has to have, an example is the number of bedrooms or the size of the garage.  A wish list is items you would like to have but if not present will not knock a property out of the search, and example is a fenced yard or a shed in the back yard. 

Once you have decided the type of property you will be looking for it is time to go shopping.  CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc is a member of the Jacksonville Board of Realtors and has access to every property listed in the MLS system.  With this in mind, if you see a property listed with another company, we have access and the ability to help you purchase the property.

Making the offer.


Once you have found the house that you like it will be time to make a offer.  Your Century 21 American Properties, Inc agent will fill out all the paperwork necessary.  You will see paperwork such as the Offer to Purchase, Seller Disclosure, Inspection Addendum, Home Warranty Information, and depending on the age of the property a Lead Base Paint Disclosure, to name a few.  Your CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc agent will explain all the paperwork necessary you will need.  In some events the offer you make may not be acceptable to the seller.  In this situation the seller will generally make changes to the offer and present it back to you in the form of a counter offer. 

Counter Offer


Once the counter offer is presented to you, it is up to you to accept the changes or make changes of your own.  But be aware that during this process the house or property is still on the market and another buyer can put in an offer at any time.  Once all terms are agreed on by you and the seller the contracts are signed, all the changes are initialed and the contracts are delivered to the right people, then you have a contract.

Earnest Money


When you present the your offer to the seller it is traditional to put up some good faith money or earnest money deposit.  This money will be help in an escrow account, generally by the listing company, until the property goes to closing.  The amount you put as earnest money deposit (EMD) is up to you.  Some seller do require a specific amount of EMD to be put down on a house before they accept your offer.  If you do not put any EMD down with your offer a lot of sellers may not take you as serious.  In this area traditionally $500.00 to $1000.00 is put down by the buyer as EMD.   When you close on the property the money will be sent to the closing attorneys office and will be credited to you.  This is not a down payment that a mortgage company might require, if any.  If for some reason the property does not close and their is a dispute about who gets the EMD, the real estate company will have to hold it.  The real estate company can give you their opinion about who should get it based on the fact but we are governed by guidelines.

Inspections


After the accepted offer everyone will be working to close the property.  One thing that is strongly suggested is getting your inspections on the property completed.  Their are a number of inspections you can have and all are optional to you.  We will advice you of your rights to have inspections on the property.  The types of inspections are generally, Structural and system home inspection, fireplace inspections, roof inspection, septic tank inspection, mold inspection and survey to name a few. 

Don't forget to check out the video of a Home Inspector, Inspecting a roof at the bottom of the page.

Once all the inspections you have elected to complete are finished, the appraiser has finished and the property has value, you have ordered your home owners insurance, the seller has completed any repairs and you have fulfilled all the requirements of the mortgage company (paperwork) it will be time to close. 

Closing


Closing on your new house will be exciting, all the hard work will finally pay off.  Yes, sometimes there are last minute glitches and sometimes everything goes smooth.  But in the end, everyone will be working for one purpose.  Closing the property and transferring ownership to you.   At the closing, the attorney will explain all of the paperwork you are signing.  The attorney will go over the requirements from the mortgage company and will make sure all the documents are completed.  Once all the of the documents are completed with satisfaction the attorney will have the deed and other paperwork registered at the county office deed vault.  Congratulation you are the owners of a home. 

This was a brief run down of the process of finding a home and closing on a home.  This in no way lists all the steps and details but is a overview of the process.  Something's in this might be pertinent to your situation and some might not be.  But use this as a simple example.  Your CENTURY 21 American Properties, Inc agent will be able to help you with all the details from finish to end. 

  Here is a sample of a video of a home inspector, inspecting a roof.