Are You Ready To Own?
Congratulations! Home ownership is one of the pillars of the American dream. Owning a home on Hilton Head Island or the surrounding area is at the pinnacle of that dream.
For existing homeowners and seasoned real estate buyers: this section is for real estate beginners. You’re welcome to stick around and review the basics (especially if you’ve never purchased property on Hilton Head), but it’s more likely that you’re ready to look at properties or talk with us.
If you’ve never purchased a home before, never bought real estate, the process can seem daunting. It is complex. There are endless forms. You’ll be spending a lot of time covering legal and financial issues at a depth that many find confusing or mind numbing. But you’ll also be experiencing something that is a real milestone, a landmark in your life, the life of your family. With the help of the Dunes Marketing Group, you’ll spend more time living the dream and as little time as possible stuck in doing paperwork.
Loads Of Helpful Advice
By now you’ve received loads of helpful advice on how to buy a home from family and friends. Much of it will likely be contradictory. Never fear. We do this every day and we can help.
When you decide to buy property on Hilton Head, when you reach the point where you’re ready to purchase real estate in one of the most beautiful and desirable spots in the world, you need more than helpful advice. You need seasoned expertise.
In this and the following sections we’ll cover many of the home buying basics, solid things that you need to know. And, of course, we can help you from the start. Just give us a call [link: contact] and we’ll be happy to help you through the entire process that will result with you in a new home here on Hilton Head, Daufuskie, or Bluffton.
The Basics of Buying Real Estate
There is a lot of detailed real estate buying information in the coming sections. But here’s what you really need to be thinking about:
- Discover what you want and need
- Be clear about what you can afford
- Learn about and understand the Hilton Head Island area
- Eliminate surprises
- Understand the process
- Find a partner
Discover what you want and need.
You may have dreamed about owning a home, but until you actually start visiting properties, you can’t really make any decisions. Buying a home may be the single biggest financial transaction you ever make. You’ll have to make many choices, including location, schools, community offerings, and amenities. For the first time buyer, you might think that you have to make many compromises, put off what you really want. But until you start pounding the pavement, start visiting homes, you won’t know what’s possible, what you can’t live without, and what sounded like a good idea, but doesn’t really fit your lifestyle.
Don’t be in a rush. Plan on spending some time discovering what kind of property is right for you.
Be clear about what you can afford.
You want to enjoy your new home, not be in a constant state of worry and regret. That means you have to be very clear from the start about how much you can afford, how much you should spend on your first home.
There are all sorts of rules of thumb and guidelines about home buying. Don’t spend more then two and a half times your yearly salary on a home. Put down twenty percent. Buy a “starter home” that you know you’ll grow out of in a couple of years. But much of this helpful sounding advice isn’t necessarily true today.
The only way you’ll be sure about what you can afford is to do one simple thing: get pre-approved for a home loan. Banks and mortgage companies in the Hilton Head Island area are happy to pre-qualify you for financing. They’ll do all of the work to tell you exactly how much you can afford. And here’s a bonus: when you’re pre-approved for financing, making the deal for that home that you want becomes easier.
Eliminate surprises.
Buying a home, especially for the first time, should never be an impulsive decision. A prepared buyer works to make sure that nothing will surprise them during the process of buying a home on Hilton Head. There are two sources of surprises: you and the property you’re interested in.
To eliminate the possible surprises on your side, do your homework. Get pre-approved for financing. Be crystal clear about what you what and need in a house. Leave nothing to chance or hope (for example, don’t shop for a home when you “hope” you get that raise or that new job. Shop AFTER you get big events nailed down.)
To eliminate surprises on the property, find someone you can work with to represent your interests. Insist on inspections. You’ll also have legal help at closing. South Carolina requires a closing attorney and that’s someone that represents you, the buyer. It’s a relief to sit in front of that tall stack of legal documents and have someone sitting next to you review each and hear, “It’s OK. You can sign this.”
Understand the process.
Buying real estate, even on lovely Hilton Head Island, is a well-defined process. It is fundamentally a business and formal legal transaction. Many first time homebuyers are swept up in the emotions and excitement of buying their first home and are stunned by all of the steps and requirements. But the process is there largely to protect you. There are a lot of things you need to know, seriously need to know. And every step of the process will get you closer to your goal: a new home on Hilton Head.
Find a partner.
No one expects you to figure this entire thing out on your own, to do it by yourself. If you really want to eliminate the headaches of buying real estate, start a relationship with a real estate professional very early in your process. For first time buyers, this can mean the difference between owning a first home and giving up in frustration and defeat. Real estate laws vary from state-to-state and even by local area. A Realtor, especially one from Dunes Marketing Group, can be a partner that can help you realize your dreams, limit the stress, and steer you back on course when your see that beautiful Hilton Head beachfront or golf course home that may be just right for you.
Let’s start there: let’s get you a partner.