Homeownership

By Srabon Nath

Homeownership is obviously the act of owning a home. However, why is it such a

complicated process that often stresses out people? Well, owning a home is not only expensive

but it also requires a lot of work to get a home of good quality and located somewhere it will

yield profit.

The first step in buying a house is looking at your own financial situation and deciding

what kind of house and where you want to buy it. Also make sure to consider the situation of the

outside world, as timing is everything. Once you decide on an affordable price range and also a

location that you can benefit from, not only now, but also in the future, it is time to gather your

finances together, get pre-approved for a mortgage, and hire a real estate agent. Real estate

agents are important as they help you find the right house with the details provided to them. You

will spend a lot of time working with your real estate agent to find the house that you like.

Once you finalize the house, you have to do a few final things before you can close on

the new home. First, you have to make an offer on the house and negotiate to get a final plan. If

the offer is accepted, it is highly recommended to get a house inspection to make sure that there

is nothing seriously wrong with the house. If you are able to find a major hazard before you close

on the sale, you can still ask the seller to repair the hazard before you close. Unlike the house

inspection, you must get a home appraisal. This appraisal decides the value of the current

property that is being purchased. This is useful when you get a mortgage loan, as you are lent

the amount of money that the house is worth. (This is because there is no benefit to the lenders if

they are giving out more money than value). After this step comes the finalizing and making sure

that there is nothing wrong. Then, the seller will give you a closing disclosure that holds the

details of the down payment, the mortgage loan, and when this has to be paid.

Ownership of a home is obtained through the owning of the title deed. The title deed is

transferred to the new owner after the mortgage is completely paid off. The new homeowner can

live in the house or rent it out to others to make money. The house can also be held onto as a real

estate investment. Homes are an expensive purchase and most people cannot afford to pay the

full cost at once so financial institutions will offer loans that people can pay off over time as a

mortgage. If they cannot pay this usually results in foreclosure.