Buying Your First Home in West Michigan
Every step explained before it happens, including the well and the septic nobody warns you about.
Ask Me the Same Question Twice
There is no version of a first purchase where you are supposed to already understand it. The words arrive faster than anybody explains them, everyone around you talks as though you have done this before, and all of it is happening to the largest number you have ever signed your name under.
So on a first purchase I explain the step before it happens rather than after, and you can ask me the same question three times without it being a problem. That is not me being nice about it. A buyer who understands what they are signing makes better decisions, and better decisions are the whole job.
Where would you like to start?
Your First House Here Probably Has a Well and a Septic
This is the biggest difference between buying here and buying in a city, and it is the one nobody mentions until it turns up on an inspection.
Most property out here is not on municipal water and sewer. Your water comes from a well on the lot. Your waste goes to a septic tank and a drain field, also on the lot. Both are yours to maintain, and both are checkable before you own them.
On the standard Michigan purchase agreement the well and septic inspection gets arranged within ten days of the contract becoming effective, and that includes testing the water itself. Have it done. It is the cheapest way to find out whether the thing you are buying works.
Two facts worth holding onto. A septic system is sized, and the size is tied to the number of bedrooms, so a house where somebody finished a basement bedroom may not be sized for what it is being sold as. And a drain field has a lifespan, which makes the age of the system a real question to ask rather than a detail.
Then there is the road. A seasonal road is a real category here. It means not maintained year round, which usually means not plowed. It is completely fine when you know and you plan for it. It is a bad January when you find out in January.
In their words
What working with me is like
Tamara was absolutely the best and easiest Realtor to work with. First time buying a house and she made the process easy to understand and simple. Would highly recommend to anyone in the market!
She is so patient and calm, and takes the time to explain everything thoroughly. She is definitely the one you want in your corner.
What Your Money Actually Buys, Said Early
Before we look at anything I will tell you what your number really buys in the area you are aiming at. Not what you hoped, and not a softened version of it.
Often the honest answer is that the same money goes considerably further a little inland than it does near water. Sometimes it is a smaller place in the town you wanted instead of a larger one in a town you did not choose. Those are real trade-offs and they are worth making on purpose.
On the money side, one thing worth doing on your first call rather than your fifth. Ask your lender which down payment assistance programs you qualify for. Michigan has them, the eligibility rules are specific, and your lender is the person who can answer it properly for your file. I am not going to guess at your numbers, and neither should anybody who is not looking at them.
Then get a real pre-approval rather than a phone estimate. It is the difference between being a buyer and being somebody who is thinking about it.
The Order It Happens In
Roughly: pre-approval, then the paperwork that sets up how we work together, then looking, then an offer on the Michigan Regional Purchase Agreement, then a stretch under contract where several clocks run at once, then closing.
The part that catches a first-time buyer is that stretch in the middle. The deadlines in it bind, they are counted in calendar days rather than business days, and in several places not responding inside the window counts as agreeing. That is the most expensive thing a buyer can fail to know, so I keep those dates myself, and you hear from me before each one rather than on the day it runs out.
The whole sequence is set out deadline by deadline on how buying works here. Read it before you make an offer, not after.
What This Looks Like With Me
No pressure to write on something because we have already been out three times. No jargon left sitting there because you did not ask. And an honest answer when a house you like has a problem you cannot see yet, including the times that answer costs me the sale.
She is so patient and calm, and takes the time to explain everything thoroughly. She is definitely the one you want in your corner.
Start by telling me which towns you are thinking about and what your lender has said so far. If you have not spoken to a lender yet, start there, and ask me who I would call.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a well and septic inspection, and do I need one?
It checks the private water supply and the waste system on the property, including testing the water itself. Out here most homes are not on municipal services, so both become yours the day you close. On the standard Michigan purchase agreement it gets arranged within ten days of the contract becoming effective. Yes, have it done.
How much do I need for a down payment?
That is a lender question, and the answer depends on your loan, your credit and which programs you qualify for. Michigan has down payment assistance programs with specific eligibility rules. Ask your lender about them in your first conversation rather than assuming you already know the number, because the assumption is usually higher than the reality.
What is a seasonal road?
A road that is not maintained year round, which around here generally means not plowed in winter. Plenty of good property sits on one. It only becomes a problem when nobody tells you, which is why it is on the list of things I check before you offer rather than after.
Can I look at houses before I talk to a lender?
You can, and I would rather you did it the other way around. Without a real pre-approval you do not yet know which houses are yours to look at, and if the right one appears you are not in a position to write on it. A pre-approval takes a few days. A house you were not ready for takes a year to get over.
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Ready to make your move with Tamara Hekkema?