I'm Ready to Buy a Franklin, MA Home--Now What?

Ready to buy in Franklin, Massachusetts? 

Here are the steps to take for an easy, stress-free home purchase:

1. If you are buying with a significant other, sit down to discuss your wants/needs in a home.  Make a "must have" list and a "would like" list to help you prioritize.  This may get tweaked later but at least you have started the discussion.
2. Contact your bank or mortgage company for a pre-approval.  You will gain peace of mind and not waste time looking at homes you cannot afford.
3. Call a reputable buyer agent, like me, who will schedule a buyer meeting to refine your location search, discuss your housing requirements and educate you on the buying process.  Be thinking about why you want to own and the importance of school rankings, tax rates, and commutability.
4. My clients are typically set up to receive automated daily email listings.  Some clients request that I choose the best homes to view based on their criteria whereas others prefer to send me their own top choices.  Past clients have appreciated my frankness with pointing out the pros/cons of certain homes and locations.
5. Once our list of homes is refined, we would head out to view 4-5 homes on a given day.  This way we could have a decent comparison of what a certain price point offers in a particular town.  Possibly 2 homes are in one town and 3 are in the adjacent town.  Viewing more than 5 homes in a day ends up usually being counterproductive and overwhelming.
6. Once a handful of homes are viewed you will start to notice that one or two homes really stands out and that you could imagine yourself living there.  It is time to write up an "offer to purchase."  This document is legally binding and spells out, in writing, what you wish to pay for the home, when you'd like to take ownership and what items (like washer & dryer, etc.) will remain with the property.
7. Congratulations... your offer has been accepted and you are ready to alert your lender and schedule a home inspection!

There are a few other steps that will lead to a successful closing but this post covers the basics of getting ready to buy in Massachusetts.

Give me a call at 508-369-5131 or email if you need help getting your home search underway.  I'd love to add you to my long list of satisfied clients.