10 Steps to Buy a Lot

Buying a lot can be an exciting venture, whether you're planning to build your dream home, start a business, or make an investment. However, it's essential to approach this process with careful planning and consideration. Here are ten crucial steps to guide you through purchasing a lot.

Step 1: Start Your Search Early

As soon as you can, start reviewing websites and other sources that have real estate listings. Make a note of particular lot that you would be interested in and see how long they stay on the market. Also, note any changes in asking prices. This will give you a good sense of the housing trends in specific areas.

Step 2: Determine How Much House You Can Afford

Lenders generally recommend that people look for homes that cost no more than three to five times their annual household income if the home buyers plan to make a 20% down payment and have a moderate amount of other debt. However, you should make this determination based on your own financial situation. 

Useful mortgage calculator: https://www.consumersadvocate.org/mortgage-rates/lp/mortgage-rate-calculator

Step 3: Get Prequalified and Pre-approved for Credit on a Mortgage

Before you start looking for a home or lot, you will need to know how much you can actually spend. The best way to do that is to get prequalified for a mortgage. To get prequalified, you just need to provide some financial information to your mortgage lender such as your income and the amount of savings and investments you have. Your lender will review this information and tell you how much they can lend to you. This will tell you the price range of the homes you should be looking at. Later, you can get pre-approved for credit which involves providing your financial documents (W-2 statements, paycheck stubs, bank account statements, etc.) so your lender can verify your financial status and credit.

Step 4: Find the Right Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents are important partners when you’re buying or selling a home. Real estate agents can provide you with helpful information on homes and neighborhoods that isn’t easily accessible to the public. Their knowledge of the home buying process, negotiating skills, and familiarity with the area you want to live in can be extremely valuable. Best of all, it doesn’t cost you anything to use an agent – they’re compensated from the commission paid by the seller of the house.

Step 5: Shop for your lot and Make an Offer

Start looking at lots in your price range. It might be helpful to take notes (using this helpful checklist) on all the lots you visit. It can be hard to remember everything about them so you might want to take pictures or video to help you remember each one.

Take as much time as you need to find the right one. Then work with your real estate agent to negotiate a fair offer based on the value of comparable properties in the same neighborhood. Once you and the seller have reached an agreement on the price, the property will go into escrow, which is the period of time it takes to complete all of the remaining steps in the buying process.

Step 6: Work with a Mortgage Banker to Select your Loan

Lenders have a wide range of competitively priced loan programs and a reputation for exceptional customer service. You will have many questions when you are purchasing a home, and having one of our experienced, responsive mortgage bankers assist you can make the process much easier.

Every home buyer has their own priorities when choosing a mortgage. Some are interested in keeping their monthly payments as low as possible. Others are interested in making sure that their monthly payments never increase. And still others pick a loan based on the knowledge they will be moving again in just a few years.

Step 7: Coordinate the Paperwork

As you can imagine, there is a lot of paperwork involved in buying and building a house. Your lender will arrange for a title company to handle all of the paperwork and make sure that the seller is the rightful owner of the house you are buying/building.

Step 10: Close the Sale

At closing, you will sign all of the paperwork required to complete the purchase, including your loan documents. It typically takes a couple of days for your loan to be funded after the paperwork is returned to the lender. Once the check is delivered to the seller, you are ready to move into your new home!

By following these ten steps, you can navigate the process of buying a lot with confidence and clarity. Proper planning and due diligence will help ensure a successful purchase and set the foundation for your future plans. Happy lot hunting! 

Contact Hector Bernal to assist you in your Real estate journey 

Land for sale in La Feria