So far in this series on First Time Homebuyer Seminars, I have covered the Pre-Approval Process and the process of Choosing A Realtor. So now that the Buyer knows the price range that they can purchase in, and they have chosen a Realtor that they want to work with, they are ready to start "Shopping For A House.
When they first meet with the Realtor that they have chosen, and signed a Buyer/Broker Agreement, they will then need to provide him/her with some basic information:
- The Price Range- This will be one of the first things that the Realtor will need to know in order to begin his/her search for properties, and it is the amount that the Loan Officer Pre-Approved them for when they went through the Pre-Approval Prosess.
- Location - The Realtor will need to know what towns the Buyer is interested in purchasing in.
- What they are looking for in a house- Things like number of bedrooms, bathrooms. garage, amount of land, one floor or multi-floor house, and other basic information like that, will help the Realtor to refine his/her search in the MLS, and come up with a number of properties that might meet the Buyer's needs.
Once all this initial information is gathered, and the perfect house has been found The Buyer will:
- Submit a formal written offer with price and any stipulations to the purchase such as:
- Seller Paid Costs
- Appliances that are to be left behind
- Time periods for Inspections, Loan Commitment, Closing Date.
- Include a deposit with the offer know as "Earnest Money".
- Also at this time the Loan Officer will need to provide a Pre-Approval Letter to be submitted with the offer. I always make mine property specific, because I want to see what the taxes are on the property that they are purchasing. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the taxes can be very different form on town to another on the same price house. So I need to know what the taxes are, and make sure that they still qualify. That last thing I want to do is to give a worthless Pre-Approval Letter because I did not take the time to make sure that everything still worked.
If their offer is accepted the clock starts to tick on everything that has to be met within the contract, especially the dates for the things I mentioned above.
- Inspections- All inspections need to be completed within the time period that was established within the contract, if not the Buyer will lose the opportunity to use the Inspection Reports to further negotiate items that are discovered during the inspection. Inspections that a Buyer might do here in Connecticut are:
- Home Inspection
- Well Inspection
- Septic Inspection
- Radon Inspection
- Commitment Date- This is the date that the Buyer will have to have a Loan Commitment by. Up to now all they have is a Pre-Approval from the Loan Officer. Loan Commitment is a commitment of funds by the Lender, and will have to go through the formal application for a loan, and collection of all the necessary documents. I will explain this further in the next blog on this First Time Homebuyer Seminar Series.
- Closing Date - This is the date that the purchase on the house has to be completed by, and I will cover the Closing Process in a future blog as well.
Because these dates are so important, and missing anyone of them could cause the Buyer to lose their "Earnest Money Deposit", it is extremely important that the Buyers meet with their Loan Officer as soon as possible to get the Loan Process going. This will be the next part that I will cover in this First Time Homebuyer Seminar Series "Applying For A Loan"
First Time Homebuyer Seminar .............. Basic Openning Questions
First Time Homebuyer Seminars ................ Pre-Approval Process
First Time Homebuyer Seminars .............. Choosing A Realtor
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Who To Call For Your Mortgage Needs In Connecticut:
George Souto NMLS# 65149 is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 gsouto@mccuemortgage.com, or visit my McCue Mortgage Homepage.
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