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Laure & Steve
Sr. Vice President/Broker

    GRI: Graduate REALTORĀ® Institute
    27 Years Experience

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Archive for May 2009

Step by Step to a New Home, Part 5

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

11. You will want to make sure that your insurance agent has sent the information, such as the cost of the first years insurance, to your lender.

12. Once the appraisal is complete your lender will now send your loan package to underwriting (assuming your lender has all of the documents he/she needs from you and your Realtor).

13. During this time your Realtor will check to see that any items from your home inspection that were to be done by the seller before closing have been done.

14. Once your loan has been approved by the underwriter the title company will order the deed from an attorney.

15. You will call the utility companies in your area and arrange to have services put in your name on the date of closing.

16. Your Realtor and your lender will receive a copy of the closing statement (a HUD 1) from the title company and go over the numbers to make sure they are correct. One or the other of them or both will then let you know how much money you will need to bring to closing. The money is usually in the form of a cashier’s check.

17. You will meet your Realtor at your new home. The property should be vacant. You will walk through inside and out to ascertain that the property is in the same condition as when you last saw it and that all items that were to be left with the house are there.

18. Then you will meet your Realtor and lender at the title company, sign papers and give the closing agent (the title company representative) your cashier’s check.

19. Congratulations, you now own your new home! You will be given the keys and you can move in!

Step by Step to a New Home, Part 4

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

7. You are well on your way to owning your new home. Most of the next few steps will be done by your Realtor and your lender and their respective companies. Your main job will be to start packing!

8. Title insurance will be ordered from the title company who will be doing the closing of your new home. Typically the seller chooses the title company. When your Realtor receives a copy of the preliminary report he/she will look it over to see if he/she sees any red flags. Your Realtor will give you a copy for you to look over and make sure it is acceptable to you. According to your buy sell you have a certain number of days from the time your Realtor receives the preliminary title report for you to accept the report. This time frame is usually 3 or 5 business days.

9. Your lender will order an appraisal of the property from a licensed appraiser. The appraiser will measure the outside of the home and look at the property inside and out. The appraiser will do a report that includes the comparable properties along with other information that he/she used to determine the value of the home you wish to purchase.

10. By the time you are notified that the home appraised for the sales price all of your other contingencies should have been met and removed or expired.

Step by Step to a New Home, Part 3

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

5. You have an accepted offer on the home you wish to purchase! Now you will choose a home inspector and the kinds of inspections you wish to have done. A home inspection serves two purposes. First you will find out if there are any serious health and safety issues with the property and you will find out about all of the little things which will probably require some work in the future. You can choose to have several different types of inspections and pay by the inspection, such as a furnace inspection or a roof inspection. Or you may choose to have a “home inspection” for one price usually ranging from around $200 to $400.

A “home inspection” typically includes inspection of the following: structure and foundation, electrical systems, plumbing systems, roofs, attics, basements, crawl spaces, gutters and drainage, walls, floors, ceilings, porches, decks, property site, furnaces, air conditioning, plumbing fixtures in kitchens and baths, water heaters, lights and receptacles, windows, doors, built-in appliances, garage, mold and termites. Most buyers also have a radon test which runs about $75 to $100 unless it is included in the “home inspection”.

6. You have the home inspection done. Usually the inspector goes to the property and does his inspections, this takes several hours. You will meet the inspector at the home when he is finished with his inspections. The inspector will walk through the property with you and point our things that he has found. The inspector will then create a written report and send you and your Realtor copies. After everyone has read the report you will get together with your Realtor and discuss the results. Generally you will want to have the seller fix major health and safety issues, such as a bad furnace or a leaking roof, prior to closing. Your Realtor will draft an addendum that lists the problems that were found and what you would like to have done about them. This addendum is given to the seller and hopefully they sign it and agree to fix what you want fixed. Sometimes there is some negotiation back and forth before everyone is in agreement.

Step by Step to a New Home, Part 2

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

4. You have found the perfect home and are now ready to make an offer. Your Realtor will give you comparable properties that have recently sold so you can compare the sold prices with the asking price on the home you want to buy. Your Realtor will also find out if there are any other offers coming in on the home. If there are no other offers in the wind than your Realtor can advise you on what you should offer. (We are using the assumption that your Billings Realtor is working for you as a Buyer’s Broker). If there are other offers coming in than you will need to make your best offer your first offer.

In the past multiple offers were extremely common. Since our market has slowed a bit and become more of a buyer’s market we haven’t seen as many multiple offers. However, recently there have been more multiple offers especially on properties in the most popular price range of $101,000 to $200,000. Once you have established what price you want to offer, your Realtor will prepare the paperwork and go over the terms and conditions with you. You will give your Realtor an earnest money check made out to the listing real estate company. Your Billings Realtor will then take the buy sell and any addendums you may be using, a copy of the earnest money check and your loan pre-approval to the listing agent. You may have your Realtor present your offer directly to the sellers, if the sellers are willing, or to the listing agent and the listing agent will present your offer to the sellers.

The sellers will generally do one of two things, accept your offer or make a counter offer. If the sellers give you a counter offer, your Realtor will counsel you on how to respond, helping you decide whether to make another counter offer or accept the seller’s counter offer. Your Realtor will negotiate for you and work back and forth until an offer is reached that is acceptable to all parties. If the seller takes your first offer than you can continue with the next step.

Market Recap

  • Avg. Sales Price: $193,580

  • Avg. Days on Market: 74

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