Steps to Buying Your New Home...
You're ready to make a move - and your next home is waiting for you somewhere out there! Let me help you by:
1. Showing you homes that meet your needs and compliment your lifestyle. Buying TO MUCH house won't serve your family. Streamlining Your Home Search is a must. As an ABR Certified "Buyers Agent" I will work on your behalf to find your new home, first expanding your choices then helping you narrow the field. I will will set-up home tours, send you a suggested tour of homes that match your needs, and provide maps and directions by e-mail, U.S. mail or fax.
2. Providing a Comparative Market Analysis
A "comparative market analysis" or "CMA" is an overview of property values, prepared by me. It includes data on recent sales in a specific neighborhood, along with homes that are presently on the market.
3. Facilitating Financing
Unless you're a cash buyer, you'll need to apply for and acquire a mortgage loan. I can help you select a lender and title company and coordinate timing and paperwork. Preapproval is essential BEFORE you start your search as it will be an indicator of how much house you can comfortably afford.
4. Preparing Required Documents
Helping you write your purchase offer is one of the most significant areas of assistance, I provide the guidance, as a buyers agent. Depend on my expertise to manage all the paperwork and appropriate documents.
5. Evaluating/Negotiating Offers and Counter-Offers
While it may be true that anything is negotiable, it may not be in your best interest. An agent skilled in negotiation is your best ally in a competitive market.
6. Counseling for Contract Acceptance
I am an objective professional in your home purchase. Where emotion might cloud your better judgment, you can rely on me to advise you of your options throughout the transaction and make sure your interests are protected.
7. Setting Up Inspections
Sellers in Ohio must disclose material facts about their home's condition to interested buying prospects. Buyers may protect their own interests by acquiring various inspections; municipalities and lenders sometimes require additional once-overs. I will help you determine what you need, make the appointments and accompany you to the inspections.
8. Negotiating Disputes/Issues
Even the smoothest, simplest real estate transaction involves two parties with needs and objectives that may differ. I will provide skilled negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution.
9. Providing Contingency Resolution
Contractual contingencies are terms that must be met before an agreement is binding. The written contingency, therefore, must also be removed in writing, by a specified date, before the contract can be fully in effect. Whether it's financing, inspection or any other item your agreement is "subject to," I will assist you in understanding the fulfillment and removal of contractual conditions.
10. Facilitating Closing
The No. 1 irritant among home buyers is unanticipated difficulties gaining possession of the home they purchased. I will make it happen, finalizing the transfer of utilities, house keys and ownership.
Common Closing Costs for Buyers
The lender must disclose a good faith estimate of all settlement costs. A check to cover your closing costs will probably have to be a cashier's check. The title company or other entity conducting the closing will tell you the required amount for:
Downpayment.
Loan origination fees.
Points, or loan discount fees you pay to receive a lower interest rate.
Appraisal fee.
Credit report.
Private mortgage insurance premium.
Insurance escrow for homeowners insurance, if being paid as part of the mortgage.
Property tax escrow, if being paid as part of the mortgage. Lenders keep funds for taxes and insurance in escrow accounts as they are paid with the mortgage, then pay the insurance or taxes for you.
Deed recording fees.
Title insurance policy premiums.
Survey.
Inspection fees-building inspection, termites, etc.
Notary fees.
Prorations for your share of costs such as utility bills and property taxes.
A Note About Prorations. Because such costs are usually paid on either a monthly or yearly basis, you might have to pay a bill for services used by the sellers before they moved. Proration is a way for the sellers to pay you back or for you to pay them for bills they may have paid in advance. For example, the gas company usually sends a bill each month for the gas used during the previous month. But assume you buy the home on the 6th of the month. You would owe the gas company for only the days from the 6th to the end for the month. The seller would owe for the first 5 days. The bill would be prorated for the number of days in the month, and then each person would be responsible for the days of his or her ownership.
What to Keep From Your Closing
The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) statement. This form, sometimes called a HUD 1 statement, itemizes all the costs associated with the closing. You'll need for income tax purposes and when you sell the home.
The Truth in Lending Statement summarizes the terms of your mortgage loan.
The mortgage and the note (two pieces of paper) spell out the legal terms of your mortgage obligation and the agreed-upon repayment terms.
The deed transfers ownership of the property to you.
Affidavits swearing to various statements by either party. For example, the sellers will often sign an affidavit stating that they have not incurred any liens on the property.
Riders are amendments to the sales contract that affect your rights. For example, if you buy a condominium, you may have a rider outline the condo association's rules and restrictions.
Insurance policies provide a record and proof of your coverage.
Buying or selling a home? Off-season can be prime time. If you're buying or selling a home and the end of the spring-summer real estate season is stressing you out, relax.
Even though real estate sales do fall off at the end of warm weather, there's still plenty of buying and selling coming this fall and winter.
Remember, sales volume is not your problem. The only house you care about is the one you're selling or hoping to buy. The real estate business definitely buzzes in the fall and winter. Real estate isn't nearly as seasonal as it used to be.
If a house is priced and marketed appropriately, no matter what time of year it is, there will be a buyer for it.
What's more, many home buyers and sellers are bucking the seasonal nature of residential real estate. They're finding that buying or selling houses in the fall and winter months has many advantages -- not the least of which are the gorgeous fall leaf colors and holiday decorations that showcase many homes to their fullest potential.
Buyers are motivated. Many off-season buyers are more serious than some among the horde who descend like locusts on open houses in the spring. After all, there's a reason they didn't buy during the peak season. Perhaps they didn't have enough for a down payment or couldn't get financed. The fact that they've entered the market in a downtime might be very meaningful.
There is a second season. While sales definitely fall off in the early fall, they usually escalate again in October in many parts of the country.
Cyber sales. The expansion of the Internet and the numbers of people who use it have added a significant off-season dimension to real estate sales. Potential buyers can now find properties for sale in the comfort of their home through a vast array of Web sites. Virtual tours can take them into homes and they can preview neighborhoods, schools and city information before venturing out.
When you put up a home for sale in the fall or winter, you have the advantage of hindsight. I can review which homes sold quickly in your area during the warm-weather "peak season." This gives you the chance to adjust your price and terms accordingly and to make your home more marketable.
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