Informed Buyer's Guide | Engel & Völkers Atlanta

Follow Your Dream, Home.

Here’s to New Beginings.

Whether it's your first time selling a house, or this is another move within your property journey, the key to an optimal experience is partnering with the best.

With Engel & Völkers, you'll engage a trusted real estate Advisor whose expertise is backed by a reputable local brokerage and a leading global real estate brand. Our Advisors are truly passionate about helping you navigate the real estate market and find the right buyer for your property. Engel & Völkers maintains consistent high levels of service throughout the world to ensure the satisfaction of our valued customers.

Getting Ready To Buy

Preparation

You are ready to buy a new home, so what next? Whether you are a first-time home buyer or a seasoned pro, having a plan and the proper team in place will make your experience an exciting and stress-free one. To initiate this process, there are a few steps to take that will yield a smooth transaction ultimately landing you in your dream home. Let’s begin this process with the following:

Hire A Realtor

There are many reasons to hire a REALTOR®. They don’t just assist you by showing you homes and being a simple tour guide, they have the education and expertise that non-real estate professionals do not have. A qualified, seasoned real estate Advisor will help you navigate the myriad of decisions that arise when buying and selling a home.

Get Pre-Approval

A mortgage pre-qualification can be useful as an estimate of how much you can afford to spend on your home, but a pre-approval is much more valuable because it means the lender has checked your credit and verified your documentation to approve a specific loan amount. This is a vital first step in the home buying process.

Find Out What Your Local Market Looks Like

This is not a task you are expected to perform alone. When you work with an Advisor from Engel & Völkers, you are provided a comprehensive market report filled with neighborhood trends that will help you choose a home that will offer you maximum return on your investment in the location you desire.

Find Out Your True Wants And Needs

Before diving into your search, it is important to nail down the necessities and your absolute “musthaves.” Compose a needs/wants list that takes into consideration your local market conditions and your price range. Use your needs list as a guideline for every home you view, and throughout the entire process, communicate with your realtor if any of these specifications begin to change as you explore the possibilities.

Find Your Dream Home

Once you’re ready to act, you may be surprised by how quickly you can make a decision. Armed with your pre-approval, extensive market knowledge provided by your realtor, and your needs/wants list, it’s time to hit the pavement. In this competitive market, when you see “The” house or condo, be prepared to put in an offer to beat out any competition.

Have Reasonable Expectations On What You Can Buy

If a lender gives you a price range, it is best to look at homes that do not exceed their suggested price range by more than 5 percent. Additionally, listen to your REALTOR®. They are familiar with current market conditions and can be the best source of knowledge with this aspect of the home buying experience.

Before Your Transition

Ask Yourself a Few Questions

Before jumping in, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself that your REALTOR® can help you determine in order to make the property search process most efficient.

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Length Of Stay

How long do you plan to live in your new home?

If you purchase a home and get a job transfer or decide to move after only a short time, you may end up paying money in order to sell it. The value of your home may not have appreciated enough to cover the costs that you paid to buy the home and the costs that it would take you to sell your home, so it is important to discuss length of time that it will take to cover those costs.

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Your Buying Power

How much can you afford?

Is now the right time financially for you to buy a home? Would you rate your financial picture as healthy? Is your credit good? To determine how much home you can afford, talk to a lender who would be happy to give you an idea of how much you can comfortably afford.

Homeownership Cost

How much can you afford?

Maintenance, improvements, taxes and insurance are all costs that are added to a monthly house payment. If you buy a condominium, townhouse or in certain communities, a monthly homeowner’s association fee might be required. If these additional costs are a concern, discuss these concerns with your REALTOR®.

Meeting Needs

How long will the home meet your needs?

What features do you require in a home to satisfy your lifestyle now? Five years from now? Depending on how long you plan to stay in your home, you’ll need to ensure that the home meets those needs both immediate and long-term. Having an idea of what you’ll need will help you find a home that will satisfy you for years to come.

Financials

Where is the money for the transaction coming from?

Typically homebuyers will need some money for a down payment and closing costs. However, with today’s broad range of loan options, having a lot of money saved for a down payment is not always necessary - if you can prove that you are a good financial risk to a lender. If your credit isn’t stellar but you have managed to save 10-20% for a down payment, you will still appear to be a very good financial risk to a lender.

Price Range

What is your target price range?

Just speaking to a lender is an extremely worthwhile venture and is the only way to get an in-depth picture of your overall financial picture and discover what you can reasonably afford to spend on a home.

To Set You Up For Success

Your Team of Experts

A successful purchase starts with the right team. Ensuring you have the right experts in place to navigate you through the home search, offer, loan, inspection and closing process is invaluable and will make your experience a positive one. Their expertise will ensure that any questions or concerns you may have are acknowledged and addressed.

Your Realtor

Your REALTOR® is not only here to help guide you through your search and home purchase, but they are also there to answer questions along they way regarding any step of the process.

Lender

Make sure that your lender or financial representative is someone with whom you feel comfortable. Having the right financial pertner is extremely important.

Home Inspector

Every home has a few blemishes. It is a home inspector’s mission to find them. It is when you can say, after reviewing an inspector’s report, “I love it,” that you know this is the home for you!

Appraiser

An appraiser is one who determines the fair market value of property. The role of the appraiser is to provide objective, impartial, and unbiased assessments about the value of your potential home.

Closing Attorney

Your purchase is an important transaction, and using a closing attorney who is willing to take the time to answer your questions and also specializes in real estate law are essential.

Every Step of The Way

The Benefits of Having Buyer Representation

Your real estate broker is there every step of the way to answer questions and assist you through the entire closing process, having the knowledge to help you ask the right questions.

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1Your Interests Are Personally Represented

Enlisting the services of a professional Buyer’s Agent is similar to using an accountant to help you with your taxes or a doctor to help you with your health care. If you had the time to devote to learning everything about accounting or medicine, you could do these services yourself. But who has the time? This is why you allow other professionals to help you in their specific areas of expertise. We let you concentrate on your full-time job, while we do ours. We will guide you through the buying process and exclusively represent your interests as we help you secure, negotiate, and close on your dream home.

You Get A Personalized Specialist Who Knows Your Needs

Your Buyer’s Agent gets to know your real estate needs and concerns on a personal level through open communication. They will save you a lot of time by providing you all the details about any home before you see it. In addition, your Buyer’s Agent will listen to your feedback and concerns about each home.

Agents Are Buffers For You

As a buyer, agents communicate on your behalf to coordinate showings and speak directly with co-op brokers so that your best interests are protected.

Third Party Advantage

Potential sellers or buyers are more likely to tell your agent the truth, even if it is unflattering. Your agent provides you with all the possible options and opportunities without holding back.

You Will Quickly And Conveniently Get A Great Home

The advantage to signing a Buyer’s Agency Agreement with us is that you will have a professional agent working to find and secure the ideal home for you. It is nearly impossible to find a home that meets your needs, get a contract negotiated, and close the transaction without an experienced agent. You won’t need to spend endless evenings and weekends driving around looking for homes or trying to search computer networks by yourself. When you tour homes with your professional Buyer’s Agent, you will already know that the homes meet your criteria and are within your price range.

They Provide A Consumer Market Analysis (Cma)

Providing you with information like average price per square foot (of sold homes) and the average amount of time it takes homes to sell in particular areas will prove invaluable during your home sale or purchase process.

Realtors Handle Your Transaction With Confidentiality

They protect your best interests, while handling volumes of paperwork for you. Your time is valuable. A real estate agent or Advisor gives you the peace of mind that your transaction will be handled professionally.

Finding the Right Neighborhood For You

Now comes the fun part: searching for homes that meet your parameters in the neighborhood of your choosing. When you begin touring homes that are on your short list, take along a notepad and jot down your thoughts as you approach each home. Can you imagine yourself living there? If the answer is yes, make sure to express all interest to your REALTOR®.

Beginning the Search

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EV Insider, Your Personal Home Search App

Save, Search and Sort, to Discover Your Dream Home

Engel & Völkers understands that the majority of real estate related searches happen on mobile devices. To ensure we best meet the needs of today’s mobile clientele, we offer the EV Insider app for quick and easy search and save capabilities. Host all of your favorite homes in one portal for a streamlined home search process.

With EV Insider, users have access anytime, anywhere to homes for sale throughout any neighborhood and beyond. This easy-to-navigate design creates an enjoyable experience and allows users to search for homes based on their current location or any home by simply adding in an address, city or zip code. EV Insider will display property details including price, square footage, estimated mortgage, taxes, features, days on market, pictures, maps and more. As you look to make your next real estate purchase, it is a great tool to search, save, sort and share your favorite homes. Begin your home search today by requesting the link to your Advisor’s specialized buyers’ app.

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The Day Has Come.

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The day has come, and you’ve found your dream home. Now what? Even though your REALTOR® is there to negotiate and walk you through the closing process, here are a few steps to keep on your radar.

Make An Offer

Your real estate agent will walk you through the steps required to make an offer on a home in your area. Your offer will likely include earnest money that will apply toward your down payment on the home and may include contingencies such as hiring a home inspector. Expect some negotiation, and discuss a competitive offer with your agent.

Get Final Mortgage Approval

Once your offer to purchase is accepted, you’ll work with your lender to get final approval for your home purchase by the date specified for the closing. The lender may require you to pay property taxes or homeowners insurance for the first year at the time of closing, so make sure you know what funds will be expected.

Do Your Due Diligence & Conduct Inspections

The due diligence process usually includes getting a home inspection to make sure you haven’t missed any hidden problems on your walk-throughs. If issues are found, negotiate for the current owner to fix them or take the cost of repair off the closing costs. It is highly recommended that you have a professional home inspector conduct a through inspection. The state of Georgia now requires inspectors to be licensed. During this process, your inspector is going to be looking for code violations, defects or items not working properly. Other violations they will check for include: mold, radon, stucco, lead based paint, polybutylene pipes and termites and termite bonds.

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Initiate The Home Appraisal

When it comes time for a home appraisal, this serves as a hands-off process for the buyer and seller. During this process, your home appraiser will assess the true value of the home, verifying the purchase price stacks up correctly to the value of the home based on a market comparison and assessment of interior and exterior of the home. Assuming your real estate Advisor has properly analyzed the market and home in the initial consumer market analysis, the appraisal report should come back to the buyer and seller at no surprise to any differentiating factors.

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Attend the Closing

Once all of the above steps are completed, you’ll be on your way to the closing table. This is when the deed to the home is transferred from the seller to the buyer. Every transaction varies, but plan to sign a ton of paperwork. An attorney or settlement agent will guide you through the process. Then you’ll officially be a homeowner and receive the keys to your new home. One additional thing to note is, beware of wire fraud. Be sure that you are receiving the wire instructions directly from the closing attorney or through a secure portal. Never trust wire instructions until you verify the location is secure and accurate.

What to Bring to Closing

Your Agent

It is important to have an advocate who understands the intricacies of the home-buying process. This is especially critical for first-time homebuyers. It’s nice to have someone with you who knows what’s going on and has your interests in mind at all times.

Your Photo Id

Of course, buying a home requires you to first prove that you are who you say you are. You will be signing a number of documents that will need to be notarized. A photo ID such as a driver’s license or current passport will do the trick. If you don’t have either of these, a state-issued ID should work.

Proof Of Homeowners Insurance

Lenders require homeowners insurance before issuing a mortgage. Other types of insurance may also be required, depending on where you live. The insurance should be able to cover the replacement costs of the house or the full loan amount. You will need to bring proof that you have homeowners insurance as well as a receipt showing that you’ve paid the premium through the first year.

A Certified Or Cashier’s Check

Lenders require homeowners insurance before issuing a mortgage. Other types of insurance Make sure that you are able to review your Closing Disclosure at least 24 hours prior to closing. This will break down all costs associated with closing on the house. Your down payment and all other closing costs should be included. For any funds greater than $5,000, Georgia law requires the funds are sent via wire to the closing attorney’s office.

Congratulations, New Homeowner!

As you begin to get settled, remember that your Engel & Völkers Advisor is here to guide and support you every step of the way, even beyond your closing. We look forward to assisting you.