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Unlock the door to your dream home in the Greater Houston and surrounding areas with Excite Realty Group’s unparalleled Home Buying Realtor Services. Navigating the path to your first home can be a daunting task, with credit scores, down payments, and home loans looming large in your considerations.
However, with our seasoned real estate team by your side, the journey becomes a seamless and rewarding experience. Trust us to guide you through every step of the home buying process, ensuring that your transition to homeownership is not only stress-free but also tailored to your unique preferences and aspirations.
Why Choose Excite Realty Group for Your Home Buying Journey?
Excite Realty Group is more than just a real estate agency; we are a dedicated team of professionals committed to making your home buying experience seamless, rewarding, and, above all, in your best interest.
Trust in our expertise, and let us help you turn your dream home into a reality with Excite Realty Group.
At Excite Realty Group, our agents stand out as exceptional negotiators with extensive experience in the real estate industry. We've fine-tuned our negotiation skills over the years to guarantee you the absolute best deal when purchasing your next home. The best part? Our negotiation services are provided to you at no extra cost.
Our commitment and expertise in the field reflect in the savings our clients enjoy. On average, homebuyers working with us save $25,000 on new construction homes and $15,000 on resale homes. We take pride in ensuring that every dollar saved is a testament to our dedication, helping you get the most value out of your investment.
Excite Realty Group goes beyond merely helping you find your perfect home. Our goal is to deliver unparalleled customer service throughout the entire buying process. From the initial search to the final closing, and even beyond, our team is here to guide you at every step. Have questions or concerns? We're dedicated to providing the assistance you need.
Excite Realty Group believes in offering a comprehensive service to our clients. That's why we've established partnerships with industry leaders such Mortgage, aXXXXXXXX. These partnerships ensure that every aspect of your transaction is handled with precision and care.
Real estate transactions can be intricate, but with Excite Realty Group, you can rest assured. Our full-service transaction team, working hand in hand with your dedicated agent, ensures that no detail is overlooked. From paperwork to inspections, we leave no stone unturned during your buying process.
The Path to Homeownership
Follow these steps to get started on your journey to homeownership!
Consulting an experienced Realtor® as your first step in home buying provides expert market knowledge, negotiation skills, and access to exclusive listings, ensuring a smoother, more informed purchase process tailored to your needs.
Read 6 Reasons You Should Never Buy or Sell a Home Without an Agent
If a pre-qualification is the initial goal, a preapproval — or conditional approval — takes you one move closer to actually buying a home. Here are the steps to getting preapproved:
Have personal information for yourself and any co-borrower handy. That includes Social Security numbers, your current address and employment details. Two years of continuous employment is usually preferred, though there can be exceptions.
Know your credit score and pull your own credit history before the lender does. Correct any errors and pay off any bills you can to improve your credit score.
Calculate your debt-to-income ratio. Add up your monthly consumer debt payments, including credit cards, student loans and car loans. Don’t include expenses such as utilities and insurance. Divide that by your gross (before taxes and other deductions) monthly income. The result is your DTI ratio. For example, say all of your monthly debt totals about $1,800, including your estimated monthly mortgage payment. Your income is $5,000 a month. That makes your DTI 36%. More on this below.
Have proof of income readily available. During a pre approval interview, you’ll likely have to offer your W-2 tax form, 1099s if you have additional income sources, and pay stubs. Self-employed applicants will probably have to provide tax returns for a couple of years.
Have your bank, savings and investment account information handy.
Be prepared to show where your down payment is coming from. If the down payment is from a gift or the sale of an asset, you’ll need a paper trail to prove it.
Contact more than one lender. You may find one lender makes it easy to apply for a pre approval online, while a local lender may work with you to remove barriers to your approval. Working with more than one lender can help you find the right financial partner for your situation.
5 Steps to Finding Your New Home
- Set Your Goals and Priorities
- Determine Your Budget
- Choose a Location
- Decide Which Features You Need (and Want) in a Home
- Meet with a Real Estate Agent
How to Make an Offer on a House
Pick the right price
Write a letter
Consider contingencies
Keep your emotions in check
Your Realtor will work with you when calculating the offer and then complete the documents. They will then submit the offer to the Seller’s Real Estate Representative.
After submitting the offer the seller may do the following:
Accept the Offer: The Seller agrees to the terms of the submitted offer and we proceed to the next step to home ownership.
Reject the Offer: If the sellers reject your offer, you are released of any obligation.
Make a Counteroffer: The Seller may submit a counteroffer which you may accept their counteroffer, reject it, or make your own counteroffer to their counteroffer.
The Option Period: The option period begins the day following when the contract was executed, and ends after the amount of days you and your Realtor have negotiated.
Inspections: Inspectors in Texas go to similar education requirements as Realtors and are licensed thru TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission). After completing their required courses, they apprentice and learn how to inspect a home properly.
Title Company:
Earnest Money, Title Insurance: Earnest money is delivered to the title company you or the seller have chosen to participate in your home purchase.
While under contract, your title company will “open title”, which means will research and give an insurance policy that you, and only you, will be the new owner of the home. If the seller has an existing survey (shows property lines of your new home), it can be used again in the new contract.
Lender: The Underwriting:
Your lender of choice plays a huge role while under contract. Your pre-approval letter was a great start to getting this home financed. You have already provided a lot of what the lender will ask for, vs just getting a pre-qualification letter. At this time, your finances will under a microscope. All money in and out will need to be verified where it came from. Lenders do this to make sure you will be able to afford this new loan.
Appraiser:
An appraisal will be ordered while the underwriting is being conducted. The appraisal will determine whether your new home is worth the new loan that you will get. Fingers crossed that is a green light to close on the home.
Closing Day is dictated by the lender and title company. Once you’re cleared to close by the lender, the title company puts you on the schedule.
Things to bring to a closing: your ID card and funding to close the transaction. Your title company will let you a few days before how much to bring to closing.
**Should there be any last minute hiccups with lending (please no changes to your spending or credit!), your realtor can help you navigate. You’re allowed to take possession of your new home once funding has cleared or as dictated on the contract.
