Buying in Summit County
Avery Kolich, REALTOR® The Penney Group
Brokered by
eXp Realty, LLC
What you need in place before you look, what it costs, and what the house will really need once it is yours.
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Also here: selling a house · everything else
Before you start looking
Talk to a lender first. Not because anyone enjoys it, but because the number they give you is the one that counts, and it is usually different from the number in your head.
Work out what you actually want before you start walking through houses. A lot of what gets shown to buyers is a wasted Saturday because nobody asked that question properly at the start.
Since 2024 a buyer agreement has to be in writing before I can take you into a house, and what I am paid is negotiable and written into it. I will tell you up front when a seller is not offering anything toward it, so it is not something you find out at closing.
Then we look. Around Akron the houses most people want tend to go quickly, so the point of the preparation is that you can act when one comes up instead of starting your paperwork then.
The buying process
The order things happen in when you buy around here, and roughly how long each part takes.
Before you start looking
Talk through the budget, not just the house45 min
Lender call, pre-approval in hand1–3 days
Buyer agreement, so you know what I owe yousame day
While you’re looking
Listings filtered to what you actually saidongoing
Showings, usually within a day of askingongoing
What the house really needs, said out loudat the showing
When you find one
Comparable sales, so your number is defensiblesame day
Offer written and explained line by linesame day
Inspection, and what to do about what it finds7–10 days
The keys are yours.Closing usually follows in 30–45 days
Downtown Akron at sunset
Common questions
How much do I need for a down payment? Usually less than people expect, and the honest answer is that a lender has to give you that number, not me. I am not a loan officer and I am not going to guess at your figure. There are programs with very low down payments and some with none at all for those who qualify. I will introduce you to two or three lenders and let them put something in writing.
Do I need to be pre-approved before we look? Yes, and get it before you fall in love with a house. Pre-approval tells you what you can actually spend, and in a quick market an offer without one is rarely taken seriously.
What does it cost me to have a buyer’s agent? Since 2024 the answer is negotiable and it has to be in writing before I take you into a house. Sometimes the seller covers it, sometimes you do, sometimes it is split. We agree the number up front, and I will tell you when a seller is not offering anything so it is never a surprise at closing.
How many houses will we see? As many as it takes, but fewer if we do the first conversation properly. Most of what gets shown to buyers is a waste of a Saturday because nobody asked what they actually wanted.
What happens at the inspection? An inspector you hire goes through the house and writes down everything. Most of it will sound alarming and most of it is not. My job is to tell you which items are worth asking the seller to fix, which are worth walking away over, and which are just what a house of that age looks like.
Can I buy before I sell my current house? Sometimes. It turns on your lender, your equity and whether you can carry two payments for a while. We work out the order before you write an offer, because getting it wrong is expensive in both directions.
How fast do I have to decide? Faster than is comfortable, on the houses most people want. That is the whole reason the budget and the pre-approval come first: so that when the right one appears you can act on it instead of starting your paperwork.
What are closing costs? Lender fees, title work, escrow, and prepaid taxes and insurance. Your lender has to give you a written estimate early on, and that estimate is the number to plan against rather than anything I could tell you. Some of it can be negotiated with the seller, and I will tell you when it is worth asking.