Are you thinking about moving to the beautiful Atlanta suburb of East Cobb? While East Cobb is 5% higher than the national average, it’s still affordable and a great place to settle down and call home. East Cobb has an address in Marietta but is not considered part of the city of Marietta. An affluent city, East Cobb has great homes and schools. Some of the top places to explore in East Cobb that are family-friendly include CRNA Hyde Farm, East Cobb Park, and Sope Creek Paper Mill Ruins.
When you decide to start house hunting in East Cobb, the process to purchase a home can be stressful–even more so if you’re a first time home buyer in East Cobb, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s an ultimate guide to the home buying process in East Cobb.
The Steps to Buying a House in East Cobb
By working with a top-rated real estate agent and the best loan officer, they can help you buy a house in East Cobb and make this process seamless. Here’s everything you need to know about the home-buying process to help you not get overwhelmed during this transition.
How Much Does It Cost to Buy a House in East Cobb?
Buying a home in East Cobb is a big commitment. If you’re new to buying a home in East Cobb, you might be wondering about the process of how to buy a house in East Cobb and even the best place to buy a house in East Cobb. While this process might seem stressful, it’s not as overwhelming as it might seem. You will need to plan and budget because there are more variables than just the mortgage, like property taxes, maintenance, and homeowners insurance. In addition to the items above, you need to take into consideration what you plan on spending on food, utilities, health care, and gas.
To make sure what you can afford, consider utilizing an affordability calculator. Let’s say you’re a single adult and make the median household income of the area $62,585, and you currently have a monthly debt of $150 for student loans.
- Down payment: $45,000
- Debt-to-income ratio: 36%
- Interest rate: 6.452%
- Loan term: 360 months (30 years)
- Property tax: 1.2%
- Home insurance: $800 per year
When it comes to the breakdown above, you can afford a house price of $253,911, which is a mortgage payment of $1,711 per month. Increasing your down payment, reducing your debt, or earning a higher yearly income allows you to afford a higher home cost. Your debt-to-income ratio should not be higher than 36%, but it’s best to try to keep it lower than this just in case something unexpected happens.
On average, owning a home in the United States can experience around $10,000 in unexpected expenses. Here are some of the things you should add to your budget when it comes to unexpected costs:
- Closing costs: On average, the closing costs can range from $6,740-$8,961, but it can depend on the price of the home you’re buying
- Homeowner’s insurance: For a home price of $250,000, the median home insurance cost of $1,013 each year
- Utilities: The average cost of utilities in East Cobb area is $287 per month
- Property Taxes: In East Cobb, the property taxes come from assessing 40% of the fair market price
The median home price in East Cobb is $435,000. On average, the piece of real estate stays on the market for 39 days in East Cobb, and the average sale price per square foot is $201. The housing market in East Cobb is somewhat competitive, and the schools in the area are all top-rated. To help you find a great neighborhood in East Cobb that fits you and your lifestyle, here are some of the most competitive areas and the median home price:
What Is Needed To Qualify For A Mortgage In East Cobb?
What is needed to buy a house in East Cobb? This is such a common question, and you want to make sure that before you start the home-buying process to get pre approved because it will help to increase your chances of your offer getting accepted. There are a variety of loan types, so make sure to do your research to find out the best one that matches your lifestyle. A few examples of loan types are conventional (Freddie Mac or Frannie Mae), fixed-rate, a monthly mortgage rate that stays the same throughout your loan period, and an adjustable-rate mortgage, in which your loan payment can vary with the interest rate.
When you’re a first time home buyer in East Cobb, there’s a possibility you could qualify for a home buying assistance program in East Cobb. These examples are the most frequently used homebuyer assistance options that are found in East Cobb, Georgia.
East Cobb Down Payment Assistance Mortgage Program
If you have an eye on your dream home but don’t quite have enough for a down payment, there is a down payment assistance program through Cobb County. The eligibility criteria for the program are the following:
- You don’t have to be a first-time home buyer to qualify for the assistance program
- To receive this, you will need to get approved for a mortgage with one of the approved Cobb County DPA lenders
You have to fall within the income limits (for credit scores of 640-679, you can have a debt to income ratio up to 45%, and for people who have credit scores of 680+, you can have a debt to income ratio of 50%) - Your credit score needs to meet the minimum requirements (for Freddie Mac, you will need a minimum credit score of 640, and for Veterans or FHA loans, you will need to have a minimum credit score of 660).
- Stay below the maximum debt-to-income ratio
- This piece of property can’t be an investment property – it has to be your primary place of residency
- You will need to move into the home within 60 days from the closing day
Georgia Dream Home Loan
While this option is available in a variety of counties throughout the state of Georgia, it is also available in Cobb County, so we wanted to include it. This loan is designed to help local residents fulfill their dream of owning a home. If you have not owned a home in over three years, are a first time home buyer, and are purchasing a home in a specific area, loans are available. You need to be within the income limits, meet certain requirements, and double check that the home price doesn’t go over the maximum amount.
For the most part, with the Georgia Dream Home Loan, the requirements are the following: up to 2 people living in the house, the income limit is $86,000, and for 3+ individuals, the income limit is $99,500. Make sure you double check based on your county because each location is different.
Additional Home Loans
Some universal home loans, regardless of the state you reside in, include Veterans, FHA, and USDA.
One way to speed up the process of having your offer accepted is to get pre-approved by your lender or bank; this shows the homeowners that you have the financing behind your offer, which can increase your chances of having your offer accepted. Before you move forward with this process, you’ll want to know the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval.
Getting pre-qualified will give you a better sense of what you can afford and what the bank would be willing to give you. When getting pre-approved, there is a more in-depth process; you will need the required documentation, and the lender will let you know the amount you got approved to send on a house. To be preapproved by a lender or bank, you will have to provide your social security number so the bank can check your credit score, look at the percentage of your down payment, and make sure you have the proper paperwork. Your debt can’t go over a set threshold for your amount of gross monthly income.
The most common way to calculate if you can afford a home is to consider the 28/36 rule. What this means is that your PITI doesn’t go over 28%, and your total monthly expenses don’t go over 36% of your paycheck (after taxes).
Find a East Cobb Real Estate Agent
As a first time home buyer in East Cobb, you should only work with the top-rated real estate agent. They will be there for you every step of the way and answer any questions you might have while working hard to get your offer accepted. If you’re curious about the benefits of hiring a real estate agent, there are quite a few. They range from having representation throughout this process and giving you peace of mind while helping you avoid common mistakes that happen as a first time buyer.
To help make this home-buying process seamless, we recommend working with the best real estate agents in the Marietta area.
Go East Cobb House Hunting
It’s time for the fun part of this process – house hunting in East Cobb! To kick this process off, we recommend that you create a list of things you need, things that would be nice to have, and things you don’t need but would be a luxury. This list can help narrow your search and save you time so you don’t spend time looking at homes you aren’t interested in.
You might be wondering where to buy a home in East Cobb; here are some of the top neighborhoods to consider buying in and living in East Cobb, along with their median home sale price:
- East Park | Beautiful & Breathtaking Homes With Colonial Architecture: $404,500
- Princeton Mill | Social Community With Local Events: $389,000
- Somerset | Close to a lake: $389,000
These are just three great options for East Cobb neighborhoods. There are plenty of beautiful, family-friendly places to settle down and call home, along with good schools, delicious food, and low crime.
Submit an Offer
Congratulations on finding your dream home! The next step is to put an offer down on the property; your professional real estate agent will help you through the process and create a strategy that will help your application stand out. They can help you decide on the best offer price based on the comparable sales and market.
If the homeowners have a higher offer, contingencies, or there are negotiations, don’t be caught off guard. If this is the house of your dreams and you are outbid, be prepared to offer a higher amount. Before you can go into escrow, you have to get an inspection and appraisal completed on the house to check if there is something that wasn’t disclosed about the home. In the event you run into any issues, the inspection allows you to back out of the offer, should you decide. If the inspection shows any issues, now is the time to discuss any repairs or credits with the seller.
Once your offer is accepted and approved, both parties will sign an agreement, and a contract will be created. After all of the steps are completed, it will be time to finalize your new mortgage!
Close On Your New East Cobb Home
It’s the final step of the home-buying process in East Cobb, and it’s almost time for you to pick up your keys. Once your offer gets approved, you will have to wait for the lenders to finalize your mortgage, which can take 60 to 90 days from the closing date. Once finalized, you will meet with your real estate agent to get your keys, sign a few more documents, transfer the funds, and complete the ownership agreement.
Now that you bought a home, it’s time to move you and your belongings into the beautiful space! Wirks Moving has the best team of East Cobb movers and will be there for you every step of the way. As a preferred mover for real estate agencies with 12+ years of experience, a 98% referral rate, 20,000+ customers served, and 2,000+ 5-star reviews, Wirks Moving is the #1 choice for your East Cobb relocation. Call us today at 404-635-6683 for a free estimate!
