7 Most Common DC Home Buying Questions

The Rozansky Group Answers Your Frequently Asked Questions

Buying a home in Metropolitan Washington, D.C. is both thrilling and a bit unnerving, especially if you're a first-time home buyer. Both experienced home buyers and first-time buyers alike will benefit from the frequently asked questions below.

So before you begin your home search, we recommend that you prepare yourself for the journey by educating yourself about the D.C. home buying process, and our buyer FAQs are a great place to start. Here are the questions we get asked most often by home buyers in the Bethesda or D.C. Metro area.

1. I've Never Purchased a Home Before. Where Should I Start?

Actually, you're on the right track. Fact-finding and reading articles is a great way to become a smart consumer. Specifically, the things you should focus on before you begin searching for specific areas, neighborhoods, or homes would be to

• Familiarize yourself with your personal finances
• Review real estate terms you may not know
• Learn about the local real estate market
• Go over your budget and eliminate as much debt as possible
• Start saving for a down payment and earnest money

2. How Do I Find the Best Mortgage Lender?

Once we meet and review your finances along with your home buying needs, you should select a lending consultant. We can recommend several trusted lending professionals or you can choose your own.

Having utmost confidence in your lender is important. Be sure you feel completely at ease with them. They should speak to you in easy-to-understand terms.  Ask lots of questions and never sign any document until you know what you are signing and feel completely at ease signing it.

3. I Want to Avoid Mistakes When Selecting a Loan. What's the Best Type?

More and more lending professionals are recommending fixed interest rate loans and interest rates are still very attractive. Of course, the type of loan best for you depends on several factors. Here are just a few:

• How much money do you have for a down payment?
• How long do you plan to live in the home?
• Do you qualify for a FHA or VA loan?

Because more homes are on the market here in the Washington, D.C. area, your choices are plentiful and the time is right for you to buy!

4. I Don't Have a Lot of Money Saved Up. Can I Still Buy a Home?

The type of loan you get and the cost of the house will determine how much money you need to put down. The more you can put into your down payment, the lower your monthly mortgage cost will be.

Use our handy mortgage calculator to estimate what you will pay each month based on the amount of your loan. Contact us if you have any questions about mortgage payments or down payments; we are always happy to help!

5. What is Pre-Approval and Why Do I Need It?

Pre-approval is a written guarantee by a lender to grant you a loan up to a certain amount. Getting pre-approved shows sellers that you are serious about purchasing a home, and it can save you time later on when you're actually applying for a mortgage.

We wrote a blog post about the difference between pre-approvals and pre-qualifications and why pre-approvals are incredibly important when buying a home in the D.C. area. If you're ready to learn how much financing you can qualify for, start the pre-qualification process with us today. 

6. I'm Relocating to the Washington, D.C. Area and Want to Know What It's Like. Can You Help Me?

Absolutely! There are so many communities that are close to D.C. and offer the perfect home and neighborhood life you're looking for.

In fact, our talented real estate staff members have intimate knowledge of the area, since several of us have lived in the D.C. area for a long time or are Washington, D.C. natives. We can always give you a recommendation, or you can use our Metro D.C. area relocation resources to get started. 

7. There Are So Many Online Listings — Where Do I Even Start Looking?

We have great home search tools that you can use to narrow down your D.C. area home search, or you can use our interactive area map to find your ideal neighborhood or condo. We also recommend the listings on The Rozansky Group's spotlight listings page or our featured D.C. area homes for sale. 

If you don't immediately see the home you want, you can sign up for email listing alerts to know the minute a property with your dream features hits the market. Or you could build your own home. (Learn all about building a new house, including what you should consider during the planning phase.) 

There are so many ways that you can narrow your search to find your new home. 

Let's Get Started!

As your home buying specialists, we'll protect your interests and manage the details of the real estate transaction on your behalf to your complete satisfaction. Our team of sharp D.C. area real estate agents has been recognized for the past 3 years as the #25 Real Estate Team in the US by The Wall Street Journal  

Ready to schedule your home buying consultation? If so, call us today at 301.656.7700 or email brad@rozansky.com, and together we will review your needs and your budget to help you find the right home.