BUYING A HOME
Put Your Realtor to work!
You
are excited, but at the same time anxious. Buying a residence
can be a hair raising experience. Some questions you may be asking
yourself are: How can I find the home of my dreams? Do I have
enough money for a down payment? How do I know the market values
so that I can make an offer? How can I find an agent that will
understand my needs? How can I find an agent that will be patient
and work with my schedule? How can I find an agent that I can
trust and that actually cares?
The
process can be overwhelming, but if you go into the process prepared
and select an agent that is professional and qualified to assist
you, it will be a very exciting and pleasurable experience. Your
agent will not only find the right home for you but will buffer
the emotions that very often surface when purchasing such an expensive
item. The right real estate agent will be patient, find that dream
home and help you make good sound judgments and avoid some common
mistakes. Your agent should show you several homes; so that you
can get an overall perspective of the home market.
Your
Realtor will give you “peace of mind” in helping you
through the details of a Real Estate transaction. Some of these
details may include, researching the market, preparing you to
make an offer, coordinating the paperwork, inspections, financing,
negotiating, and legal matters.
Whether
you are a first time buyer, an investor, someone looking to relocate
or purchase a vacation home, you will be handled with the respect,
professionalism and integrity you deserve.
The
Real Astute Team will make your real estate journey efficient,
effective and satisfying.
Home
Buying Tips
Pre-qualify
with a Lender
Visit with a lender, mortgage company, savings and loan, bank or credit union,
where you can translate all the data into hard facts about the upper price limit
you can handle and the types of mortgages suited to your needs.
Choose The Real Astute Team, we offer The Perfect Partnership;
Real Estate and Financing. Karen and Pat work together not only
to find your dream home but to assist you in purchasing that home.
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Choose
a Realtor
The
last thing you want to do is walk into an open house and start
talking how much you can afford to the agent who has listed the
house. That agent owes his or her allegiance to the seller, and
only the seller. If you're negotiating with a pro, you ought to
have a pro in your corner, too.
Its possible for buyers to sign up their own agents to represent
their interests in a deal. Look for a buyer's broker who will
represent you; and only you. Most agencies today have moved to
a “Transaction Broker” status. This means that the
broker has fiduciary duties to all parties in the transaction.
Most brokers work as seller's and buyer’s brokers, which
raises an interesting question: Who represents you in negotiations if your buyer's
broker also happens to be listing the home you want? Local practices vary in such
instances, and everything is negotiable. If you want an agent to advise you and
negotiate on your behalf, regardless of which house you buy, get specific arrangements
in writing.
Be clear about how the broker expects to be paid. Most are still
paid out of the seller's commission, but would you owe a commission
if you buy a home being sold without an agent, or if you find
a home on your own? A good buyer's broker will show you for-sale-by-owner
homes as well as broker-listed homes, but you could end up paying
the 3% or so commission out of pocket, or agreeing to a higher
price so you can roll the fee into your mortgage.
If you're also selling a house, consider using the same agent.
Most agents will be motivated to sell your home faster if they
know they will be looking for a purchase as well. It certainly
is easier to communicate with only one person. (And you might
have more luck negotiating a lower commission from an agent who's
getting all your business).
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Begin
Your Search
Buying
a piece of real estate is a science. Buying a home is an art.
The science is getting the legal and financial parts right. The
art is finding a property that you'll be happy living in. The
Real Astute Team will work in conjunction to achieve
the final task, finding and financing your new home.
It can't be overstated: Focus on the location and general quality
of the property. Don't go chasing an exact price or a particular
feature, such as a pool, marble flooring or granite counters.
Let your focus be a good-quality home in a good location, it can
be tailored to your specific needs later.
Start by making a Wish List, a list of your wants
and needs, your likes and dislikes.
This will help us zero in on a neighborhood and, together with
your price range, help us narrow the field of prospective properties.
If you can't afford what you want where you want it, sacrifice
something inside the house rather than sacrificing the location.
You can add a second bathroom or install hardwood floors to bring
a house up to your standards, but you can't improve the neighborhood
single-handedly.
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Touring
the House
Make
several visits to any house you're seriously considering. If things
are so frenzied that you're likely to lose out if you follow that
route, get the most out of every minute you're in the house. Consider
yourself a reporter and detective, there to gather as much information
as possible about the house and the sellers. We will walk around
with you taking notes and making notes.
At most open houses you will find an information sheet about the
house. The property sheet will spell out such things as square
footage of lot and house, room sizes, property taxes, average
monthly utility bills, and the ages of appliances and major mechanical
systems, as well as the number of bedrooms and baths, and other
basic data.
Sellers and their agents are required by law to warn buyers of
"material" defects in a property that would not be apparent
during a routine inspection.
If, at first glance, this looks like a house you'll want to pursue,
sketch out floor plans on your first visit; they'll help you envision
the house hours or days later. Also jot down special features.
If you're looking at several homes, these will help you remember
which was which. The Real Astute Team will provide you with listings
sheets as well as property remarks sheets on each outing.
We will always walk through the homes with you reminding you to
take special notice of things. You'll want a professional inspection
made later if you decide to buy, but you can make some tentative
judgments on your own:
- Take
a close look at the air conditioning system, electrical box
(fuses or circuit breakers) and appliances. Do they appear
to be in good shape?
- How
about the roof, gutters and exterior finish?
-
Does the house have hurricane protection, or will you have
to add them at your own cost?
-
If the floor plan doesn't suit you, can you rearrange space
or add on?
-
Are you looking at older houses with the intention of remodeling
or expanding? If so, have an architect or contractor standing
by to accompany you on a second visit. The judgment of these
professionals on the ease and probable cost of renovation
should play a major role in how much you offer.
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Make
the Offer
You know what you can afford. Now decide just what you're willing
to pay for the home you want.
WE will provide an analysis of comparable properties. There should
be several on the list. No two will be exactly alike, but they
should be similar enough to serve as a useful tool in setting
an offering price.
-
Look at sale dates. Under normal conditions, a comparable should
have sold no more than six months earlier.
-
Note locations. A similar home in a different neighborhood may
not be comparable at all.
-
Compare the features of each property. Comparables should be
roughly the same age and condition.
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Put
it in Writing!
Do
your negotiating in writing. Your realtor will guide you. Don't
reveal your strategy, and don't make oral offers. You want to
buy the house, but you don't want to hand over your money until
you're sure the seller is legally capable of conveying a good
title and meeting other conditions. The seller, in turn, doesn't
want to deliver the deed until you've paid for the property.
Now
what? WE will present the seller with a written contract
setting out the commitments and promises that you and the seller
need to agree on and fulfill in order to make the sale.
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The
Opening Bid
Whether you should go ahead and make your highest bid right away
or send up a trial balloon in the form of a lower offer depends
on how fair the asking price is, how many buyers you may be competing
with and what other enticements desired by the seller you can
offer.
Asking prices often have a good bit of padding built in. You shouldn't
offer the asking price, or something close to it, just because
that's what the owner wants. Offer what you think the house is
worth. If the seller wishes to negotiate, he or she will present
you with a counteroffer.
Sometimes
negotiating goes on for days: offer, counteroffer, offer, and
counteroffer. More commonly, though, an agreement is reached on
the second or third offer. Once the price and terms are agreeable
to both parties and both parties have signed the contract, the
contract is said to be “executed”. This is the point
at which it is legal and binding.
A written and signed purchase offer can bind both you and the
seller. Whether it's called a contract-to-purchase, an offer,
binder, or earnest-money agreement, you can be held to your offer
once it's signed by the seller. Before we submit the offer we
will be sure we have made you very clear and aware. If we leave
anything out and the seller accepts and signs the contract, you're
out of luck. That's why your purchase offer must cover every minute
detail and aspect of the sale, such as:
- The
date and amount of deposit.
-
Your name as buyer and the property owner's name as seller.
-
The total purchase price.
-
Full legal description and street address of the property.
-
The lawyers, brokers and others involved in the sale, as well
as the terms and conditions of their compensation.
-
The options available to both buyer and seller should either
party default.
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Close
the Deal
There
is no way to guarantee a smooth path from an executed contract
to the settlement table however; The Real Astute Team will make
your journey from Contract to Close as pleasant and efficient
as possible. Once your contract is accepted the clock starts ticking.
Under specific deadlines you must have the home appraised and
inspected. Minor problems and delays are inevitable.
The
Real Astute Team will work in conjunction to bring you to a smooth
closing. Should you run into problems that prevent you from being
ready to close, contact us immediately and work out an extension.
You shouldn't be penalized if the problem is one you couldn't
have anticipated. While you're waiting for completion of all the
processes now in motion, you should:
- Decide
how you want to take title to the house, your name
alone, joint ownership with a spouse or through a limited partnership.
-
Apply for homeowners insurance.
-
Get an exact accounting of settlement costs,
and make sure the money and necessary documents will be there
at closing. You can expect that your broker will give you an
estimate of your closing costs.
-
Select a date for the walk-through of the house.
You may wish to have a walk-through two weeks or so before you
intend to close if you expect work will need to be done by the
owner. Then a final inspection can be made just prior to settlement.
-
Contact the utility companies about establishing
service in your name. Arrange for electricity, gas, oil and
water to be turned on in your name on the day of settlement
so that there will be no interruption in service. Make these
arrangements a few weeks in advance, since utility companies
may require deposits, credit checks and advance notice.
