Home Buyer Vocabulary

Calling all first-time home buyers! Or anyone who hasn’t bought a house in a while! Or anyone who wants to learn anything new about buying a house! We know the process can get confusing, but here at Morrison Home Team, we want to dispel as much of that confusion as possible. To do that, we made a list of vocabulary words to help you understand the home buying and closing process! No, we won’t make you spell it, give us the form of speech, and use it in a sentence on your next test…but we think it will aid your entire process!

Offer: a little bit self-explanatory term, but this is where you make a bid on a house that you want to purchase. After this happens, there is usually a negotiation process before an agreement is reached between you, the buyer, and the seller to purchase the home.

Contingent: When the offer has been accepted, but the finalized sale is based on certain criteria. Usually this is the appraisal, home inspection, and mortgage rate approval. Both the buyer and the seller can set these criteria.

Home Inspection: We always make sure to hire a professional inspector to come around to the house and make sure every little thing is in pristine condition. As that is not usually the case, your Morrison Home Team agent will help you determine the cost of fixing the things that might need to be improved, and you can include that in your final negotiation before signing the contract.

Appraisal: Speaking of appraisal, this is when a professional appraiser comes by to determine the value of the property you are purchasing. The selling agent will pull comparison homes that have recently sold in the area and the appraiser will consider those and everything else from how the home has been taken care of to the improvements that have been made recently. The goal is to have the value of the home match your offer.

Closing: Congratulations! You made it over all of the hurdles and you are officially going to own your new home! The closing is when you will be signing the papers for the property in your name. This is when you finally get the keys and can begin your move in process!

We hope that helped explain a bit of the home buying process, but of course, if you have any more questions, please contact your Morrison Home Team agent!

Do you know anyone starting the home buying process? Please forward this on to them! For more information, contact John Morrison with Morrison Home Team at 847.409.0297.