How Do I Shop for a House Online?

We’ve all gotten comfortable with ordering home goods, clothes, and even groceries online.  In recent years, the online car market has taken off and made buying a car more convenient.  But is buying a house online really possible? Abodefy is answering that question with an affirmative YES!

Abodefy shows every home available in Houston (and more coming soon), so you can shop the entire market right from your phone. But more than just shopping, Abodefy Homes have online booking of tours for a home that interests you, just like test driving a car at the dealer, except with no sales person following you around.

The first step to successfully shopping for the right home is to give some thoughtful consideration to all of the various types of communities, floorplans, and options. There are an infinite number of choices, so documenting down to the details will help to narrow your views as you shop.  Create your profile with as much detail as possible as a way to help filter out properties that would not be interested in.

The last thing you want to do is spend time shopping and find a house you absolutely fall in love with only to find out it is out of your price range.  Getting pre-approved for financing will help you avert this disaster and put your mind at ease to enjoy the shopping experience fully. If a house is priced competitively, it could sell very quickly so you want to be as ready as possible to purchase once you find the house of your dreams.  One way you can get ahead of the competition is to reserve the house of your choice.  Reserving a property is quick and easy.  It allows you to put a temporary 48 hour “hold” on the sale of the property for other buyers while you have the opportunity to complete your financing pre-approval and make a final decision as to whether or not you want to actually purchase the property. You do not need to be fully approved for financing to reserve a home, but you will need to complete your loan application and obtain a financing pre-approval during the 48-hour hold period.  If you do not complete your loan application, or if you do not qualify for financing, your reservation will be canceled, and your reservation fee will be fully refunded.

Once you complete your loan application and receive a pre-approval from the lender, you can take a moment to celebrate as you take the next step of signing a purchase agreement.  The builder will also be notified of your pre-approval and will jump into action to prepare a purchase contract that matches the sales price of the property that you reserved.  The builder will send the prepared contract to your portal so you can sign it digitally. Once you sign the purchase contract, your reservation fee will automatically be applied toward the purchase of the property.  At that point, the property status will change to “In Contract” and it will no longer be available for any other buyers to purchase or reserve.  Congratulations, you are on your way to becoming a homeowner!!