Buying a Home in Greeneville, TN

Agent’s Expertise

Your Hometown Realtor is a valuable resource working for you throughout the entire purchase process. We can help streamline every step by providing recommendations, referrals, and an expert opinion.

Talk with us to quickly find  a reputable home inspector, a reliable lender, or an experienced attorney. We can connect you with the right people.

Managing the Process

You can save time and avoid mistakes by working with a Buyer’s Agent that is responsible for managing the entire process.

Your Hometown agent’s commitment to your success goes beyond finding the perfect property. We’ll make sure that every aspect of your real estate transaction is handled with care and professionalism. Don’t hesitate to lean on our expertise and connections to simplify the journey to your new home.

Setting Your Objectives

Before we start looking thru listings, it’s essential to define your goals. Are you buying a home to live in, or is it an investment property? Do school districts matter to you? Is an HOA preferable or a dealbreaker? How far would you be willing to commute? Knowing your objectives will shape your search, budget, and strategy. By having a clear vision, you can narrow down your options and streamline your search.

Setting Your Budget

Once you’ve defined your goals, it’s time to set a realistic budget. Consider your financial situation, including your savings, income, and potential mortgage options. Remember to factor in additional costs like closing fees, property taxes, PMI and maintenance. Having a well-defined budget will help you find properties that align with your financial capabilities. Which leads to our next step…

Understand Financing Options

With your budget in mind, let’s talk to some lenders. It’s very important to get pre-approved for a mortgage if you aren’t paying cash. Sellers are getting lots of cash offers, and with a financing contingency you want to instill confidence that your’s is a real offer that you can deliver on.

Explore different financing options, such as fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages, to find the one that suits your needs. Pre-approval will confirm your budget is realistic and help you compete in a competitive market.

Choosing a Lender

We’ll help connect you with several local lenders. Shop around to compare interest rates, loan types, lender requirements, and closing costs. A reputable lender will guide you through the loan application process, ensuring you understand all terms and conditions.

 We recommend Premiere Lender Hilary Dupill, Greeneville Branch Manager for GVC Mortgage. You can reach Hilary at (724) 787-7491 or [email protected].

Most lenders will want to see your down payment money in place for a certain amount of time, and in some cases, have documentation of the sources of funds. Its a good idea to get your down payment money consolidated and documented well in advance.

Exploring Available Listings

With your agent’s assistance, we’ll begin your property search. We’ll screen available properties, introduce you to neighborhoods that are a good fit, and answer all your questions.

Our deep local knowledge will help get you pointed in the right direction. Combined with a thorough understanding of your goals and criteria, we’ll quickly zero in on the best prospects and get some showings lined up. We’ll also make sure to gather documentation like disclosures, utility bills, service records and other important information to guide your evaluation.

Pick Your Top Choice

When choosing a home to make an offer on, there’s a lot to consider. Your Hometown agent can help you evaluate the many factors involved. We’ll look out for any red flags, and objectively weigh your criteria against the best available options. Don’t forget renovations costs!

We’ll be happy to loop back around and revisit any earlier showings where questions have come up.

Trust your instincts and also take advice from your agent, leveraging our local market expertise for the right choice. Your Hometown Realtor is there to complement your emotional connection to a particular home with their objective expert insight.

Crafting Your Offer

When you find the perfect property, work with your real estate agent to craft a compelling offer. Consider the market conditions, recent comparable sales, and your budget.

Your Hometown Realtor will help you negotiate terms like price, contingencies, repairs, and the closing date. An offer letter with a personal appeal can work in your favor in a competitive bidding situation.

Submitting and Negotiating

Your agent will submit your offer to the seller’s agent. Be prepared for potential counteroffers and negotiations. Electronic signing of these documents has become commonplace, and as such, availability and quick response time during negotiations is the norm.

Your Hometown Realtor will make sure all the paperwork is in order, while negotiating on your behalf to secure the best deal possible.

Inspecting the Property

After your offer is accepted, you’ll have a specified period to conduct due diligence. This includes more thorough inspections, such as a professional home inspection, termite inspections, radon testing, and gathering repair estimates.

Your Hometown Realtor will help line up quality service providers to assist with these assessments.

Negotiate Adjustments

As the results start to come in on various inspections, we’ll frequently get into another round of negotiations if no dealbreakers are encountered.

As the potential Buyer, you’ll have the opportunity to work with your agent on demands and concessions you require to move forward. You’ll need to decide if you’d rather have everything addressed before you take possession, or if you’d rather receive a financial concession and oversee the repairs and improvements yourself.

Finalizing Your Mortgage

Congratulations! Your offer was accepted, and you are working thru inspections and contingencies. Now is the time to finalize your mortgage application. You’ll likely start on this step before even finishing Step 6. Your Hometown Realtor can help you understand any of the bank’s requirements that are confusing or unclear.

It is important to quickly provide all necessary documents to your lender and complete any required paperwork. Your lender will arrange an appraisal of the property to determine confirm its value. You’ll need to provide several years of tax returns and financial statements, documentation of income, and a personal financial statement detailing your assets and liabilities.

Underwriting and Approval

The lender’s underwriting team will review your application, credit history, and appraisal report. Its quite common to get requests for additional documents or clarification on anything unusual in your financial situation. Things are moving quickly towards closing, so being very responsive is important.

Once your loan is approved, you’ll receive a commitment letter, outlining the terms and conditions of your mortgage. A closing date will be set and title work ordered. The lender will typically select the closing attorney.

Closing Costs

Before closing, you’ll need to gather funds for closing costs, which may include fees for the lender, title company, and escrow services. Some costs can be rolled into your loan amount, and some are due from the seller. Some may be due in advance – for instance reimbursing the lender for any appraisal.

As the buyer, you’ll typically be responsible for the bulk of the closing costs.

Your Lender will provide you with a detailed estimate of these costs including a settlement statement. Your Hometown agent can walk you thru the complex settlement statement to help you understand it.

Final Walkthrough

Before closing, you’ll have the opportunity for a final walkthrough of the property to ensure it’s in the agreed-upon condition. If any repairs or improvements were to be made, you’ll want to look at them closely.

Your Hometown Realtor can attend with you, offering a second set of eyes to check for anything amiss. If any last minute issues are present, your agent will work to resolve them quickly so that closing can proceed as planned.