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BRADFORD PRATT
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THE HOME BUYING PROCESS
JUST STICK WITH ME ITS MUCH EASIER THAN IT SOUNDS
One of the keys to making the home buying process easier and more
understandable is planning. In doing so, you'll be able to anticipate
requests from lenders, lawyers and a host of other professionals.
Furthermore, planning will help you discover valuable shortcuts in the
home buying process.
Do You Know What You Want?
Whether you are a first-time homebuyer or entering the marketplace as a
repeat buyer, you need to ask why you want to buy. Are you planning to
move to a new community due to a lifestyle change or is buying an option
and not a requirement? What would you like in terms of real estate that
you do not now have? Do you have a purchasing timeframe?
Whatever your answers, the more you know about the real estate marketplace, the more likely you are to effectively define your goals. As an interesting exercise, it can be worthwhile to look at the questions above and to then discuss them with me in detail.
Do You Have The Money?
Homes and financing are closely intertwined. (Financing is the difference
between the purchase price and the down payment, commonly referred to as
debt or the mortgage.) The good news is that over the years new and
innovative loan programs have evolved which require a 5 percent down
payment or less. In fact, a number of programs now allow purchasers to buy
real estate with nothing down.
In addition to a down payment, purchasers also need cash for closing costs (the final costs associated with closing the loan). Several newly emerging loan programs not only allow the purchase of a home with no money down, but also underwrite closing costs.
Not everyone, however, elects to purchase with little or no money down. Less money down means higher monthly mortgage payments, so most homebuyers choose to buy with some cash up front.
Is Your Financial House in Order?
Those great loans with little or nothing down are not available to
everyone: You need good credit. For at least one year prior to purchasing
a home, you should assure that every credit card bill, rent check, car
payment and other debt is paid in full and on time.
Few people can buy a home for cash. According to the National Association of REALTORSŪ (NAR), nearly nine out of 10 buyers in 1999 financed their purchase, which means that virtually all buyers -- especially first-time purchasers -- required a loan.
The real issue with real estate financing is not getting a loan (virtually anyone willing to pay lofty interest rates can find a mortgage). Instead, the idea is to get the loan that's right for you -- the mortgage with the lowest cost and best terms.
I routinely suggest that consumers start the mortgage process well before bidding on a home. Many lenders (the sources of money) and programs, for example, are available right in your own neighborhood. By meeting with lenders -- either online or face to face -- and looking at loan options, you will find which programs best meet your needs and how much you can afford.
I also recommend pre-approvals for another reason: Purchase forms often require buyers to apply for financing within a given time period, in many cases, seven to 10 days. By meeting with loan officers in advance and identifying mortgage programs, it won't be necessary to quickly find a lender, check credit, and rush into a financing decision that may not be the best option. I can often get clients pre-approved in a couple of hours with just a phone call.
What is Pre-approval?
"Pre-approval" means you have met with or talked on the phone
with a loan officer, your
credit files have been reviewed and the loan officer believes you can
readily qualify for a given loan amount with one or more specific mortgage
programs. Based on this information, the lender will provide a pre-approval
letter, which shows your borrowing power. You can visit as many lenders as
you like and get several pre-approvals, but keep in mind that each one
carries with it a new credit check, which will show up on future credit
reports.
Although not a final loan commitment, the pre-approval letter can be shown to listing brokers when bidding on a home. It demonstrates your financial strength and shows that you have the ability to go through with a purchase. This information is important to owners since they do not want to accept an offer that is likely to fail because financing cannot be obtained.
Start looking!
Some 6 million new and existing homes are sold each year. There's no
shortage of housing options, but with so many choices the challenge
becomes finding the property which best meets your needs.
The housing market is complicated because the stock of homes for sale is always in flux. If it were possible to have a complete list of every home for sale at this very moment in a given community, such a list would become obsolete within seconds as new homes become available and properties now for sale are put under contract.
In effect, buyers are looking at a moving target in a marketplace that is never static. Because of this, it is important to know as much as possible about the choices in preferred markets, and the way to do that is by working with me.
What are you looking for?
A home is more than just a collection of bedrooms and bathrooms. Several
properties -- each with four bedrooms, three baths, and the same price --
may well represent radically different designs, commuting distances, lot
sizes, tax costs, interior dimensions, and exterior finishes.
Each of us is different and so it's important to list the features and benefits you want in a home. Consider such things as pricing, location, size, amenities (extras such as a pool or extra-large kitchen) and design (one floor or two, colonial or modern, etc.).
Next, it's important to consider your priorities. If you can't get a home at your price with all the features you want, then what features are most important? For instance, would you trade fewer bedrooms for a larger kitchen? A longer commute for a bigger lot and lower cost?
Lastly, consider your needs in several years. If you'll need a larger home, maybe now is the time to buy a bigger house rather than moving or expanding in the future. If you expect your income to increase, perhaps you should consider a more expensive home financed with a loan program where monthly payments increase in the future.
How do you find a house?
The first step is to become
a member of my extranet website which is free and easy to use.
In just a few minutes online you will have access to the entire Multiple
Listing Service that contains every property for sale in
Massachusetts. The membership will allow you to refine search
criteria and print out the complete listing sheets on the properties that
you are interested in. Once you have a few homes that look good I
will make appointments for us to tour them when it is convenient for you.
Choose a house!
There's no doubt that choosing a home is a big decision and you want
to do it right.
As a buyer, here's what actually happens. A home has been placed on the market for which the seller has established an asking price as well as other terms. In effect, this is an offer. At this point, you have three choices: accept the seller's offer and create a contract; reject it and not make an offer; or suggest different terms and make a counter-offer. If you choose this last option, the seller may accept, reject or make a counter-offer.
No aspect of the home buying process is more complex, personal or variable than bargaining between buyers and sellers. This is the point where the value of my experience is clearly evident because I know the community, have seen numerous homes for sale, I know local values and have spent years negotiating realty transactions.
Is it THE house?
A house is shelter, but a home is far more. It's where you live, relax,
entertain friends, raise families, and work. A home is where you spend
much of your life, and so choosing a house is an enormous decision.
How do you know if a house is THE one? Probably the best approach is to look at as many homes as possible, something that I try to make as easy and enjoyable as possible. We can quickly and easily view huge numbers of homes, check prices, take tours and view extensive neighborhood information. Together we can find all the information you need to make a confident decision about which home you want to buy.
Make an offer.
REALTORŪ groups, working with legal counsel, have developed forms that
are appropriate for realty transactions in specific communities. Such
documents include numerous sale conditions and their wording should be
carefully reviewed to assure that they reflect the terms you want to
offer.
While much attention is spent on offering prices, a proposal to buy includes both the price and terms. In some cases, terms can represent thousands of dollars in additional value for buyers -- or additional costs. Terms are extremely important and should be carefully reviewed.
How much?
You sometimes hear that the amount of your offer should be x percent below
the seller's asking price or y percent less than you're really willing to
pay. In practice, the offer depends on the basic laws of supply and
demand: If many buyers are competing for homes, then sellers will likely
get full-price offers and sometimes even more. If demand is weak, then
offers below the asking price may be in order.
How do you make an offer?
The process of making offers varies around the country. In a typical
situation, you will complete an offer that I will present to the owner and
the owner's representative. The owner, in turn, may accept the offer,
reject it or make a counter-offer.
Because counter-offers are common (any change in an offer can be considered a "counter-offer"), it's important for buyers to remain in close contact with me during the negotiation process so that any proposed changes can be quickly reviewed.
Once an offer has been accepted you should schedule a home inspection and call a lawyer. Unless I am working as a buyers broker I cannot by law recommend a home inspector although I can give you a list of them for you to choose from. Your lawyer will be very important in the weeks to come to review the purchase and sale agreement and generally protect your interest throughout the remainder of the process.
How many inspections?
A number of inspections are common in residential realty transactions.
They include checks for termites, surveys to determine boundaries,
appraisals to determine value for lenders, title reviews and structural
inspections.
Structural inspections are particularly important. During these examinations, an inspector comes to the property to determine if there are material physical defects and whether expensive repairs and replacements are likely to be required in the next few years. Such inspections for a single-family home often require two or three hours, and buyers should attend. This is an opportunity to examine the property's mechanics and structure, ask questions and learn far more about the property than is possible with an informal walk-through.
Get insurance.
No one would drive a car without insurance, so it figures that no
homeowner should be without insurance.
The essential idea behind various forms of real estate insurance is to protect owners in the event of catastrophe. If something goes wrong, insurance can be the bargain of a lifetime.
What kind and how much?
There are various forms of insurance associated with home ownership,
including these major types:
Title insurance: Purchased with a one-time fee at closing, title insurance protects owners in the event that title to the property is found to be invalid. Coverage includes "lenders" policies, which protect buyers up to the mortgage value of the property, and "owners" coverage, which protects owners up to the purchase price. In other words, "owners" coverage protects both the mortgage amount and the value of the down payment.
Homeowners' insurance provides fire, theft and liability coverage. Homeowners' policies are required by lenders and often cover a surprising number of items, including in some cases such property as wedding rings, furniture and home office equipment.
Flood insurance: Generally required in high-risk flood-prone areas, this insurance is issued by the federal government and provides as much as $250,000 in coverage for a single-family home plus $100,000 for contents.
Home warranties With new homes, buyers want assurance that if something goes wrong after completion the builder will be there to make repairs. But what if the builder refuses to do the work or goes out of business?
Home warranties bought from third parties by home builders are generally designed to provide several forms of protection: workmanship for the first year, mechanical problems such as plumbing and wiring for the first two years, and structural defects for up to 10 years.
Home warranties for existing homes are typically one-year service agreements purchased by sellers. In the event of a covered defect or breakdown, the warranty firm will step in and make the repair or cover its cost.
Insurance policies and warranties have limitations and individual programs have different levels of coverage, deductibles and costs. For details, speak with insurance brokers and home builders.
How do you get insurance?
The time to obtain insurance and warranty coverage is at closing. You
should talk to an insurance broker shortly after you sign the purchase and
sale agreement. Be sure to ask about limitations, costs, deductibles
and "endorsements" (additional forms of coverage that may be
available).
Closing on your home!
Go to any local courthouse and you can find property records detailing
real estate ownership in your community -- sometimes records that date
back hundreds of years.
These records are important because they provide today's owners with proof that they have good, marketable and insurable title to the property they are selling. Equally important, such records enable buyers to provide proof of ownership when they sell.
The closing process, which in different parts of the country is also known as "settlement" or "escrow," is increasingly computerized and automated. In many cases, buyers and sellers don't need to attend a specific event; signed paperwork can be sent to the closing agent via overnight delivery.
In practice, closings bring together a variety of parties who are part of the "transaction" process. For example, while the history of property ownership has been checked, it's possible that the records contain errors, unrecorded claims or flaws in the review itself, thus title insurance is necessary. At closing, transfer taxes must be paid and other claims must also be settled (including closing costs, legal fees and adjustments). In most transactions, the closing agent also completes the paperwork needed to record the loan.
What to expect.
Settlement is a brief process where all of the necessary paperwork needed
to complete the transaction is signed. Closing is typically held in an
office setting, sometimes with both buyer and seller at the same table,
sometimes with each party completing their papers separately.
Whatever the case, the result is that title to the property is transferred from seller to buyer. The buyer receives the keys and the seller receives payment for the home. From the amount credited to the seller, the closing agent subtracts money to pay off the existing mortgage and other transaction costs. Deeds, loan papers, and other documents are prepared, signed and filed with local property record offices.
What you need to do.
One of the best parts of settlement is that buyers and sellers need to do
very little.
Before closing, buyers typically have a final opportunity to walk through the property to assure that its condition has not materially changed since the sale agreement was signed. At closing itself, all papers have been prepared by closing agents, title companies, lenders and lawyers. This paperwork reflects the sale agreement and allows all parties to the transaction to verify their interests. For instance, buyers get the title to the property, lenders have their loans recorded in the public records and state governments collect their transfer taxes.
Its yours!!
You've done it. You've looked at properties, made an offer, obtained
financing and gone to closing. The home is yours. Is there any more to the
home buying process?
Whether you're a first-time buyer or a repeat buyer, there are several more steps you'll want to take.
Those papers you received at settlement are extremely valuable, so hold on to them! In the short-term they can help establish tax deductions for the year in which the property was purchased. In the future, such papers will be important for tax purposes when the property is sold, and in some cases, for calculating estate taxes.
Also at closing, determine the status of the utilities required by the home, items such as water, sewage, gas, electric and oil service. You want utility bills to be paid in full by owners as of closing and you also want services transferred to your name for billing. Usually such transfers can be done without turning off utilities. I can provide contact numbers and related information.
About two weeks after closing, contact your local property records office and confirm that your deed has been officially recorded. Such records are public notices that show your interest in the property.
Moving in.
It is generally understood that sellers will leave homes "broom
clean" when moving out. This expression does not mean
"vacuumed" or "spotless." Broom clean makes sense
because it means the house is ready to be painted and cleaned.
Your home, your money.
For most owners a home is the largest single asset they hold, so it makes
sense to protect that asset.
Many owners make a photo or video record of the home and their possessions for insurance purposes and then keep the records in a safety deposit box. Your insurance provider can recommend what to photograph and how to secure it.
You want to maintain fire, theft and liability insurance. As the value of your property increases such coverage should also rise. Again, speak with your insurance professional for details.
Lastly, enjoy your home. Owning real estate involves contracts, loans, and taxes, but ultimately what's most important is that homeownership should be a wonderful experience. Enjoy!