Congratulations! You’re considering purchasing a Snowshoe, WV home, undoubtedly one of the biggest and most important purchases you may ever make! This is an exciting home-buying process with many moving pieces. A qualified real estate professional who understands your needs is crucial to making this purchase smooth. Below are the steps you’ll need you’ll take to begin shopping for, and then purchasing your new Snowshoe, WV home:

  1. Contact a Real Estate Professional to represent you

    • A good buyer’s agent will be able to recommend other professionals to help you through the process. They will always be professional. They’ll be able to explain the paperwork in a way that you will understand. They will answer any questions you may have in a timely manner throughout the entire process.

  2. Contact a local Snowshoe mortgage lender (unless paying cash)

    • Your buyer’s agent can recommend the best lender for you, depending on your individual situation. Much of Snowshoe, WV property is considered “unwarrantable” (i.e., short-term vacation rental or vacation home). As such, you may find obtaining a loan from your hometown bank to be a challenge.
    • Some properties are not Fannie or Freddie qualified and therefore do not qualify for long-term, fixed rates. An adjustable-rate mortgage may be required.
    • We recommend using lenders local to the Snowshoe area, as they are able to provide financing more easily.
    • Your mortgage lender will provide you with a pre-approval, helping you and your agent understand your realistic home-shopping budget.
    • The pre-approval will come with estimated monthly mortgage payments.

  3. Buyer consultation with your agent

    • Once you know what type of loan you qualify for and how much you want to spend on Snowshoe, WV real estate, your agent will meet with you to begin discussing what your needs/wants are in a home – with regards to size, bedrooms, bathrooms, location, etc.
    • At this point, your agent may explain the Notice of Agency Relationship (NOAR). West Virginia Law requires that you be informed of whom the agent is representing in the transaction.

  4. Begin touring homes

    • After consulting with your agent, they will work within your schedule to set up appointments to begin touring homes. This may also include video and virtual tours.
    • Whenever possible, the agent will first preview any homes you are interested in so that they can be better prepared to more accurately and effectively show you the home.
    • Your agent should provide all available and relevant property documents for the homes you are touring to include:
      • The property listing from the MLS.
      • HOA documentation and costs, to include what the HOA fees include/exclude.
      • Any known inclusions/exclusions as stated by the seller.

  5. Identify the home you want to purchase

    • Work with your agent to develop the best price based on market value, property condition, and your purchasing ability.

  6. Make an offer

    • Discuss pricing and terms with your agent and lender. Your lender should provide closing calls estimates for you prior to you making an offer.
    • Your agent will negotiate prices and terms such as:
      • Amount of earnest money deposit
        • This is a deposit on the real estate – not the loan.
        • It is meant to demonstrate your commitment to purchase the property.
        • It will be applied towards the closing costs at the time of purchase.
        • Typically due 5 days after contract acceptance in the form of a check.
      • Closing Date
        • Allow for 4-6 weeks for financed purchases.
        • May be able to close in a month (or under) if cash purchase.
        • Can vary due to the backlog of lenders, title attorneys, inspectors, etc.
        • Can be conducted in person or remotely
      • Inspections

        • You can choose to have an inspection or not. For those who are considering the purchase of a Snowshoe single-family home, we always recommend having (at the very least) a basic home inspection.

        • The inspection period typically lasts 21 days after contract acceptance. Within that timeframe, all inspections will need to be completed. Once completed, you have the opportunity to go back to the seller and ask for repairs or corrections to items discovered in inspections, closing cost credits (typically limited by the lender to 6% of the purchase price), a price reduction, or another arrangement.

        • Inspections costs vary, but you should expect to spend $300 – $600 for a licensed real estate inspector to perform a professional inspection of the property.

  7. Go under contract

    • Upon successfully going under contract on a Snowshoe WV property, your agent will
      • Send a fully-signed copy of your purchase agreement to your lender (if applicable) to begin working on your loan.
        • Your lender will send you a full financing application and schedule your appraisal
        • You will need to provide your lender with one year’s worth of bank statements, several months of pay stubs, your tax returns, and proof of any assets.
      • Coordinate with the title attorney as needed to schedule a title search.
      • Make sure that all applicable resale certificates, HOA-related documents, etc are reviewed and accepted.
      • Make available to you the property disclosure.
      • Schedule any home inspections
        • You will have the opportunity to walk through the property with the inspector so that you can see and understand any item(s) that may be defective.
      • Obtain good faith estimates from title companies so that you can see how much your attorney fees may be.

  8. Closing

    • Once a successful title search is complete, and any/all financing is in place, you will be contacted directly to begin discussing closing details.
      • Wiring instructions
      • Closing Date
      • In-person vs. remote closing
    • Your agent will work with you and the seller to make sure any utilities are moved over to your name
    • Your agent will make sure that you obtain keys to your new property
    • Your agent will help you get set up with a vacation rental management company (if you intend to rent the property).